Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Speechless In San Francisco," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup."

Cartoon Credit: IBD.

Rule 5 Sunday

At Egotastic!, "LINDSEY PELAS' TOP RUNNETH OVER AND OTHER FINE THINGS TO OGLE," and "ROSIE JONES BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 2015."

At Toasted on the Inside, "We Need These Hot Chicks Washing Cars All the Time."

Also at Wirecutter's, "Your Good Morning Girl."

More, at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is evil carbon pollution polluting beer, you might just be a Warmist."

At Goodstuff's, "GOODSTUFFs BLOGGING MAGAZINE (199th Issue): Stephanie Arias is our Bella of the Week."

Plus, at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Nichole Meyer."

Plus, Postal Dogs has "Sheer Breast Shots of the Jenner Sisters."

90 Miles From Tyranny has "Morning Mistress."

From First Street Journal, "Rule 5 Blogging: Are all Finns blonde?"

Still more from Proof Positive, "Friday Night Babe: Abigail Ratchford!"

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY," and "MIRANDA KERR SPREAD LEGGED IN GRAZIA FRANCE OF THE DAY."

Also at GCeleb, "Maria Sharapova Wore a Bikini in Montenegro."

Ms. EBL, "Ariana Kelly Crazy Maryland Democrat Who Flash Her Boobs Rule 5."

At Odie's Place, "Jogging ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

From Zoo Today, "Lucy Collett's brilliantly busty ZOO shoot!"

Also from Sports Illustrated, "Rose Bertram sexy French teacher."

At GQ, "Sofia Resing Prefers Surfers to Soccer Players."

At Esquire, "Chrissy Teigen is a Woman We Love."

Still more, from V Magazine, "HONEYMOONING WITH LANA DEL REY." And at Daily Mail, "She looks safer in THOSE sheets: Lana Del Rey poses semi-naked in Maxim... after appearing in rape scene directed by Eli Roth."

Also at Daily Mail, "Tragedy at Demi Moore's Beverly Hills home: Man, 21, is found dead in star's pool after falling into the water during late night party."

Finally, at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Sunday: Force It."

Surfer Fights Off Great White Shark During South Africa Competition (VIDEO)

By the size of that dorsal fin it must have easily been a 15-foot great white, if not even larger.

Terrifying. The guy's lucky he wasn't killed.

At the Sidney Morning Herald, "Shark attacks Australian surfer Mick Fanning during live competition":

The shark approached ominously from behind as Fanning sat on his board, before launching at him.

"I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking, trying to get it away," Fanning said afterwards.

Fanning appeared in shock and at a loss for words as he tried to describe the attack.

"I was just about to start moving and then I felt something grab [and] get stuck in my leg rope. And I instantly just jumped away and it just kept coming at my board. I was just started kicking and screaming. Wow!

"I just saw fin, I didn't see the teeth. I was waiting for the teeth to come at me as I was swimming."

Fanning, a three-time world champion, was competing against fellow Australian Julian Wilson in the world tour event final. The event was cancelled with the surfers to split the prizemoney.

Fanning and Wilson are locked in a world title battle, but the competition was the bottom of both surfers' priority lists following the incident.

"I'm happy to not even compete ever again. Seriously, to walk away from that, I'm just so stoked," said Fanning.

Chattanooga Terrorist Mohammad Abdulazeez Sent Text Message 'Declaring War' on Enemies

I read about this text message earlier, at the Washington Post, "Tenn. gunman used drugs, struggled with clash of faith."

The suspect quotes the Hadith 38, "Allah the Almighty has said: 'Whosoever acts with enmity towards a friend [wali] of Mine, I will indeed declare war against him. Nothing endears My servant to Me than doing of what I have made obligatory upon him to do'."

Now authorities are scrutinizing this as a possible call to jihad.

At the New York Times, "Federal Inquiry Turns to a Text Sent by Gunman in Chattanooga Rampage":

Investigators are checking the text message not only to verify it, but to see if it provides any motivations for Mr. Abdulazeez.

The official said that the friend who came forward with the text message has been interviewed by F.B.I. agents. The friend, who has not been publicly identified, told Reuters that he thought nothing of the text initially, but now wonders if it was a hint of Thursday’s attacks...

RTWT.

Also at the BBC, "Chattanooga attack: Gunman Abdulazeez 'sent war text'."

Tim Hunt Vindicated in University College London Sexism Dispute

I haven't blogged this story, although it's extremely fascinating. Louise Mensch has been on a crusade for the truth.

The background, from June, is at the BBC, "Sir Tim Hunt resigns from university role over girls comment."

And now from Louise Mensch and Natalia Demina, at the Time of London, "The tape that shows Sir Tim was wronged."

Secret 1933 Film Shows Edward VIII Teaching Nazi Salute to Queen Elizabeth

This is a huge story across the pond.

At the Sun UK, "Their Royal Heilnesses":

THE Queen and Queen Mum raise a Nazi salute in an astonishing home movie shot at Balmoral and seen today for the first time.

The film shows the then Princess Elizabeth, just seven, larking about in 1933....

Experts last night hailed the footage as an incredible new historical document of huge public interest.

RTWT.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Secret 1933 film shows Edward VIII teaching Nazi salute to Queen. See it FREE http://t.co/mDtqvsTpsC pic.twitter.com/k36Qe4DLrX

— The Sun (@TheSun) July 19, 2015

Some context on Edward VIII and his Nazi sympathies. http://t.co/f1cpoFLP5f pic.twitter.com/F0j03AArMl

— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) July 17, 2015

@chrisdeerin @holysmoke No it isn't. It's a legitimate piece of social history, which we have contextualised at length.

— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) July 17, 2015

.@StigAbell congratulations. World-beating public interest journalism.

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) July 17, 2015

There is no paper in England who would not have published that. End of. Historic moment.

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) July 17, 2015

Watch the video here.

And a bit of the reaction, at London's Daily Mail, "'The Sun has sunk to a new low': British public reacts with fury after tabloid publishes 80-year-old pictures of the seven-year-old Queen and the Queen Mother being taught a Nazi salute."

More at the Telegraph UK, "Hunt for source of leaked Nazi salute footage: Palace opens investigation as it accuses The Sun of 'exploiting’ the Queen and the memory of her family."

And at the Guardian UK, "Royals told: open archives on family ties to Nazi regime - Historian urges that secret correspondence be made public to reveal the truth after Queen’s Nazi salute footage released."

Also, "Fascism, abdication and war: the story of a turbulent era: As Germany fell into the grip of fascism in the 1920s and 30s, the British royal family was facing its own crisis, and the lure of totalitarianism was spreading through the highest levels of British society."

And commentary, from Bella Bathurst, "If the royals were an ordinary family, the Nazi salute video wouldn’t matter. But they’re not," and "Karina Urbach, "Behind the infant Queen’s gesture lies a dark history of aristocratic Nazi links."

Kole Calhoun Homers Twice, Garrett Richards Pitches Shutout, as Angels Blank Red Sox 3-0 at Angel Stadium

So I go down to get another beer in the third inning and Kole Calhoun blasts a home run as soon as I get in line. I'm like, "What the heck, heh?" But it was all cool because as soon as he gets up again he hit another blast to the right field seats in the fifth.

See Mike DiGiovanna, at the Los Angeles Times, "Garrett Richards goes the distance in Angels' 3-0 win over Red Sox." And also Jeff Fletcher, at the O.C. Register, "Angels' Garrett Richards throws 2-hit shutout; Kole Calhoun hits 2 homers."

Garrett Richards was spectacular. Before I knew it it was two outs and the bottom of the ninth and everybody starts standing at two strikes. I'm all, this is sweet!

We left home a little before 5:00pm, and it was starting to clear up. It rained pretty good for most of the early afternoon. You can see the tropical clouds over the Santa Ana mountains at the photo. We had some drizzle during the game, but nothing bothersome at all. Kinda fun, actually.

.@lamblock You can see the tropical weather we're having for #RedSox at #Angels. cc. @RSMcCain @Angels pic.twitter.com/hTEEtIgVct

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) July 19, 2015

In the beer line. #RedSox at #Angels. @lamblock pic.twitter.com/n4LqRhPX1S

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) July 19, 2015

Fantastic effort by Garrett Richards in 2-hit shutout of Red Sox courtesy of Kole Calhoun's 2 HRs for still surging #Angels

— Lyle Spencer (@LyleMSpencer) July 19, 2015

Everyone: It's not a complete game shutout. It's just a shutout. You can't pitch a shutout if you don't pitch a complete game. That is all

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 19, 2015

Angels' Garrett Richards throws 2-hit shutout; Kole Calhoun hits 2 homers http://t.co/olmRwhagDj

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 19, 2015

Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez Set Off No Red Flags

Well, no red flags before the attacks.

He's got a history of extreme devotion to jihad. His writing and pious language already indicate religious motives, although authorities want hard evidence of radicalization.

At WaPo, "Marines’ killer set off no red flags":

As investigators sought to decipher the motives of the gunman who targeted U.S. troops in Chattanooga, Tenn., they also began to confront the uncomfortable question of whether counterterrorism agencies are reaching the practical limits of what they can do to detect homegrown plots.

On Friday, federal officials said they were investigating the shootings Thursday in Chattanooga as a possible terrorist attack but were a long way from drawing conclusions. They said the gunman, 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, had not previously drawn the attention of authorities, save for a drunken-driving charge a few months ago.

On Saturday, the Navy said a male petty officer died at 2:17 a.m. of wounds received in Thursday’s shooting — bringing the number killed in the rampage to five. The sailor’s name had not been released.

Abdulazeez’s travels to the Middle East, his acquisition of several firearms and his recent online musings about the meaning of Islam were coming under fresh examination as hundreds of federal agents sought to reconstruct his movements and mind-set.

“At this time, we have no indication he was inspired by or directed by anyone other than himself,” Edward Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Knoxville, Tenn., told reporters Friday.

U.S. officials said that devices including a computer and cellphone believed to have belonged to Abdulazeez were being examined by FBI technicians in a laboratory at Quantico, Va.

The FBI said that Abdulazeez was armed with at least two rifles or shotguns, as well as a handgun, when he opened fire on a military recruiting center and a Navy Reserve facility in Chattanooga. Authorities did not give a more detailed description of the firearms or say how he obtained them.

“Some of the weapons were purchased legally and some of them may not have been,” Reinhold said. U.S. counterterrorism officials have become increasingly worried about the ability of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda offshoots to attract and radicalize followers in the United States. At the same time, authorities have expressed concern that their ability to detect such contact has been eroded by the spread of encrypted communication.

Federal authorities have arrested more than 10 people over the past six weeks who are suspected of having ties to the Islamic State. U.S. officials said the crackdown was part of an effort to suppress a surge in suspected plots aimed at unleashing violence on U.S. targets during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended the day of the attacks in Chattanooga.

But officials have also said that homegrown radicals have gotten better at hiding their intentions and cloaking their contacts with overseas groups, despite a massive expansion in U.S. surveillance capabilities since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks...

More.

Plus, "Tenn. gunman used drugs, struggled with clash of faith."

Southern California Endures Wildfires, Lightning, Beach Closures

Definitely some strange weather, and terrifying circumstances.

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

A fast-moving storm rumbled through Southern California on Saturday producing thunder, lightning that closed beaches from Malibu to Long Beach, power outages and flash-flood warnings, but it helped firefighters get a handle on two major fires in the Inland Empire.

And today’s forecast calls for much of the same.

While there were no reports of injuries or property damage, the storm did strike an American Airlines plane heading from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., forcing it to turn around and make an emergency landing at LAX. The storm also saw Los Angeles firefighters rescue a 20-year old man from the Los Angeles River and canceled several outdoor events throughout the region.

The Boeing 737 had 159 passengers, seven crew members and seven hours of fuel on board as it landed, according to the airline and Los Angeles firefighters’ radio traffic. It landed about 1:35 p.m. and taxied to the Alaska Airlines terminal.

The storm also knocked out power to thousands.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported 10,000 customers affected by outages, likely related to the storm. In addition, Long Beach continued working — as it has since Wednesday — through its worst power outage in 50 years, and more than 1,000 customers lost power in the High Desert, according to Southern California Edison, which worked to restore power to most by around noon Saturday.

The lightning is expected to continue, but less frequently than Saturday, through midday Monday, said Brett Albright, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office.

A flash-flood watch was in effect through 8 p.m. today, especially in mountain areas, he said...

More.

Tropical Cyclone Dolores

It's been raining today, which is great for the Cajon Pass wildfire. But not so great for tonight's game, which is still on.

At LAT, "Rain, thunder and lightning pound L.A. area; flooding possible."

Here's O.C. Register Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher, on Twitter: "The collective uneducated guesses about weather tonight for Angels: game will be played. May be some delays. Will be wet."

'Visceral' Ta-Nehisi Coates

We're currently living through Ta-Nehisi Coates's fifteen minutes of fame.

This New York Times piece isn't as fawning as the Washington Post article I wrote about earlier. See, "Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Visceral’ Take on Being Black in America."

Tyler Cowen writes about Coates' new book, here.

And at Amazon, Between the World and Me.

Mike Trout Smashes 9th Inning Walk-Off Home Run in Angels' 1-0 Victory Over Red Sox

At MLB on YouTube, "7/17/15: Trout's walk-off blast lifts Angels to win."

And at the O.C. Register, "Final: Mike Trout's walk-off homer leads Angels to victory over Red Sox."

It was a pitchers' duel between Boston’s Wade Miley and Angels ace C.J. Wilson. I'm doodling around on my blog and my wife exclaims, "C'mon Trout!" And right as I look up he smashed the ball over the center-field fence. I scream at my wife, "Yeah, honey! Way to send the vibes out to Anaheim Stadium," as we both erupt in laughter.

We're heading out to the park tonight to catch Game 2 of the four-game series. Fireworks are scheduled for afterwords. We usually attend on the 4th of July, but the Angels were away to Arlington this year against the Rangers.

Check my on Twitter feed tonight and I'll probably post a couple of photos from the game.

Brilliant! Donald Trump Slams John McCain: He's No 'War Hero' (VIDEO)

Trump's stoking some major outrage with this one.

At Legal Insurrection, "Did Donald Trump just strangle himself with McCain “war hero” comment?"

Actually, no. It's just his opinion. Seriously, why is it Saint McCain all of a sudden?

More, at Politico, "Trump attacks McCain: 'I like people who weren't captured'."

Interstate 15 Route Through Cajon Pass Can Be Tinderbox Paved with Danger

At the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "CAJON PASS: Key Inland route paved with danger":

It is a beautiful place, where pine-covered peaks rise dramatically on either side from a deep canyon cut.

It is a busy place, where hundreds of thousands of people pass by every day on their way to work, on their way to make a delivery or on their way to Las Vegas.

It is a bone-dry place, too, where whistling winds wring moisture out of brush not long after winter rains depart.
“And we are in four-plus years of drought right now and that just makes it worse,” said Cal Fire Capt. Lucas Spelman, who works in Perris on a contract with the Riverside County Fire Department. “It’s as if someone had poured gasoline in that area before the fire started.”

That fire, of course, was the wildfire that roared across the Cajon Pass so fast Friday it trapped motorists on Interstate 15, igniting disturbing images of rows of cars burning on a prominent Southern California freeway as people literally ran for their lives.

“That really just really represents how explosive the vegetation is here in the Inland Empire right now,” Spelman said.

FIRE-PRONE ENVIRONMENT

The unprecedented inferno on the freeway pavement also underscored the natural conditions that make the Cajon Pass both beautiful and dangerous, even under normal circumstances.

“It’s kind of the gateway to the desert, so it’s a transition from the vegetation of the valley into the desert,” Spelman said.
There is plenty of fuel to burn. There is plenty of wind to fan the flames. And there are lots of potential sources of ignition – ranging from the cars that zip down the pass to the trains that meander through it, he said.

And it shows. Newspaper archives are chock-full of reports of fires in recent years.

The fire-prone environment is the backdrop of one of the busiest – and most important – transportation corridors in the region. According to Caltrans’ website, I-15 carries more than 160,000 vehicles a day through the pass.

Many of them, of course, are headed for the casinos in Nevada.

“This is the biggest tourism route in and out of the state because everybody’s headed back and forth to Vegas,” said Terri Kasinga, a spokeswoman for Caltrans in San Bernardino...

Wounded Sailor in #ChattanoogaShootings Has Died (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Navy Sailor Injured in Chattanooga Shooting Has Died":

Death toll climbs to five in presumed terror attack on Tennessee military facilities.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, a reservist serving on active duty in Chattanooga, died Saturday morning from his injuries.

Mr. Smith, 26 years old, joined the Navy because he was inspired by the service of his late grandfather, said his step-grandmother, Darlene Proxmire. Mr. Smith was a married father of three girls and grew up in Paulding, Ohio, she said.

“He was an awesome young man and he’s going to be missed very badly by a lot of people,” she said.

Officials say the alleged gunman, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, of Hixson, Tenn., was killed by police after firing repeatedly on military personnel.

Along with Mr. Smith, four Marines were killed in the attacks. A U.S. official and family members on Friday confirmed the identities of the deceased Marines: Thomas Sullivan, of Springfield, Mass.; Skip Wells, from Marietta, Ga.; David Wyatt, of Hixson, Tenn.; and Carson Holmquist, of Grantsburg, Wis.

Dennis Pedigo, a police officer injured in the shooting, is “in good spirits” and doing well, according to a family statement released by the police department on Friday evening.

The case is being handled as a terrorism investigation, though officials cautioned they still hadn’t determined a motive for the shooting. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said they hadn’t yet found evidence of a connection to the Islamic State group. “At this time we have no indication that he was inspired by or directed by anyone other than himself,’’ said FBI Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold on Friday.

In the wake of the shooting, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Saturday ordered state National Guard recruitment personnel at six storefront locations to relocate to the nearest armory until security can be improved at the sites and any terror threats could be evaluated.

Meanwhile, federal agents are scrutinizing a monthslong trip to Jordan by Mr. Abdulazeez in April 2014, according to people close to the investigation. He visited extended family, but the reason for his stay is under investigation, a person familiar with the matter said.

He had previously traveled to Jordan four other times, dating back to 2003, and went to Kuwait in 2008, these people said. Mr. Abdulazeez, who was born in Kuwait, was a naturalized American citizen, law-enforcement officials said.

Law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are now trying to determine if Mr. Abdulazeez made connections, or drew inspiration, on the Jordan trip to commit an act of violence once he returned to the U.S., the people close to the investigation said...

Still more.

Jihad on U.S. Troops Is Not a 'Circumstance'

From the irrepressible Michelle Malkin:

Four U.S. Marines, barred from carrying weapons at naval training facilities despite explicit ISIS threats against our military, are dead in Tennessee. Another service member and a Chattanooga police officer survived gunshots after Thursday’s two-stage massacre at the hands of 24-year-old jihadist Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus called the terrorist’s spree “insidious and unfathomable.” President Obama bemoaned the “heartbreaking circumstance” in which the murdered Marines found themselves.

“Unfathomable?” Not if you’ve been paying attention. Islam-inspired hate crimes against our troops have continued unabated since the Obama White House first dismissed the 2009 Fort Hood massacre as “workplace violence.”

Here’s what’s unfathomable: While the social justice warriors in Washington bend over backwards to appease CAIR and Muslim civil rights absolutists, Americans in uniform are dying on American soil at the hands of Allah’s homicidal avengers—but the commander-in-chief couldn’t even bother to deliver a live statement to the nation yesterday about the bloodshed.

Instead, President Obama issued another bland, bloodless pronouncement about the assassinations of our disarmed troops.
“Heartbreaking circumstance?” Lightning strikes are random events of unfortunate circumstance. The concerted attacks and plots against our troops in their recruitment centers and on their bases here at home are outrageous acts of war.

Have you forgotten?

In June 2009, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad walked into an Arkansas Army recruiting center, murdered 24-year-old Private William Long and gravely wounded 18-year-old Private Quinton Ezeagwula. He had planned on killing many more in the name of Allah. While the White House and media decried the “climate of hate” fostered by Christians, they whitewashed Muhammad’s jihadi rage. Muhammad received a life sentence without parole for the act he himself described as a “jihadi attack on infidel forces.”

It should be noted that Muhammad converted to Islam at Tennessee State University in Nashville, then became further radicalized in Yemen before returning to the U.S.

“The U.S. has to pay for the rape, murder, bloodshed, blasphemy it has done and still doing to the Muslims and Islam,” Muhammad railed after carrying out his plot. “So consider this a small retaliation the best is to come Allah willing. This is not the first attack and won’t be the last.”

As I noted at the time, President Obama could barely muster up a limp, written statement expressing “sadness” over what he described as a “senseless act of violence” (instead of the intentional, systematic act of Islamic terrorism that it was).

After the Little Rock ambush came the Baltimore military recruitment center bomb plot. Muslim convert Muhammad Hussain, 21, bragged on Facebook about his devotion to violent jihad. He “dialed a cellphone that he believed would ignite barrels of explosives packed into a sport utility vehicle,” the Baltimore Sun recounted. “The SUV had been parked by the Armed Forces recruiting station at a strip mall in Catonsville, a bedroom suburb west of Baltimore.” Hussain idolized Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Hasan and “thought about nothing but jihad.”

In June 2011, the feds charged Muslim jihadists Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif and Walli Mujahidh conspired to use machine guns and grenades to “kill officers and employees of the Department of Defense who worked at the MEPS [Military Entrance Processing Stations] located in the Federal Center South building in Seattle Washington, and to kill other persons assisting such officers and employees in the performance of their duties.” They both pleaded guilty, but remained unrepentant and defiant....

Can someone ask the commander-in-chief: Do U.S. military lives matter enough yet to do more than issue a canned, obligatory condolence to the families of those who serve?

How many more lives must be lost before he is as roused about Bill Cosby, the Confederate Flag, Game of Thrones, or Caitlyn Jenner as he is about our troops under jihad siege?

This is not a “circumstance.” This is war.

And check out Michelle on Twitter, where she brings down the hammer on this terror-coddling administration.

Jackie Johnson's Got Your Weekend Forecast and Fire Conditions

Watching the fire live yesterday, news reports indicated it was 99 degrees in the Baldy Mesa area at the time.

Here's my earlier entry, "Massive Fire at Cajon Pass Destroys 20 Vehicles on Interstate 15 — #NorthFire."

Massive Fire at Cajon Pass Destroys 20 Vehicles on Interstate 15 — #NorthFire

At the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "CAJON PASS: Fire destroys vehicles on I-15, structures in Baldy Mesa (UPDATE)."

And from the Press-Enterprise on YouTube, "CAJON PASS: North fire destroys 20 vehicles on I-15."

Also, raw video from KERO-TV 23 Bakersfield, "Over 500-acre wildfire burns in San Bernardino." (It's over 3,500 acres, but who's counting?)

Plus, here's KCAL 9 Los Angeles, "Baldy Mesa Residents Remain Evacuated Wondering If Their Homes Are Okay Following North Fire."

More at CBS News Los Angeles, "UPDATE: ‘It Was Terrifying’ Said Drivers On I-15 In Recounting Moments After Wildfire Erupted."

And ABC News Los Angeles, "Video shows moment motorists are told to abandon their vehicles on 15 Fwy due to #NorthFire."

And spectacular coverage at the Los Angeles Times, "Fire in the Cajon Pass: 1,000 firefighters battle blaze that sweeps 15 Freeway, burns cars, threatens homes."

Amazingly, there were no major injuries, thank God.

How to Get Food, Water, and Charge Cell Phone During Long Beach Power Outage

Following-up from earlier, "Downtown Long Beach Faces Third Day Without Electrical Power."

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "Long Beach power outage: How to get food, water and charge cell phone":

Long Beach city emergency crews are providing resources to residents, visitors and business owners during the power outage in downtown Long Beach.

A hotline has been established for residents affect by the outage to call: 562-570-5905.

Information is also available at the city’s website, longbeach.gov/.

The American Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, and the Search and Rescue Team of the Long Beach Fire Department are visiting senior housing facilities and performing wellness checks at homes. As crews work to fix the situation, some traffic lights remain out of use.

The city, with help from nonprofits and area businesses, set up a shelter for those affected at Cesar Chavez Park beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, with showers, beds and free food. The park is located at 401 Golden Ave., near the 710 Freeway.

Until power is restored, Southern California Edison staff will be passing out water, ice and flashlights at 730 Pacific Ave.

A charging station for mobile devices is available at 3rd Street and The Promenade.

Tips for staying safe and healthy during the outage include...

Keep reading.

Nick Denton's Gawker Removes Gay-Shaming Post About Condé Nast CFO

Here's Nick Denton's entry on the removal of the post, "Taking a post down..."

The link goes to Memeorandum, so it's safe.

I read an archived version of the Gawker piece last night, tweeted by Christina Hoff Sommers, "Here is a link to the vicious Gawker story--Archived version. It won't generate clicks for the depraved editors..."

The revulsion is universal.

ADDED: At the Other McCain, "Web Site Everybody Hates Reminds Everybody Why We Hate Them."

And at AoSHQ, "Gawker Staff Smears Feces On Itself, Boards a Schoolbus Loaded With Gasoline and Napalm, Then Intentionally Drives That Schoolbus Into a Cargo Train Transporting Toxic Waste and Retarded Clowns."

Border Invasion! Majority of New California Drivers Licenses Issued to Illegal Aliens!

Our whole state is just one big illegal alien sanctuary!

At the San Bernardino Press-Enterprise, "Most new California licenses go to drivers in US illegally":

California officials say more than half of new drivers’ licenses issued in the state this year have gone to people who are in the country illegally.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles reported Friday it has issued roughly 397,000 licenses under a state law that allows people who are in the country illegally to apply for licenses to drive. The law went into effect in January.

That’s more than half of the total 759,000 licenses issued in the first six months of 2015.

Supporters of the law say giving licenses to people regardless of their immigration status makes the roads safer for everyone. Opponents say people who are not in the country legally should not be rewarded.

Applicants must pass driving tests and show proof of residency and identity.

Marines Killed in Chattanooga Terrorist Attack Identified

At CBS Evening News, "Marines killed in Chattanooga attack identified." Also at the Tennessean, "All four Marines killed in Chattanooga officially identified."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Marines Slain in Chattanooga Are Remembered."

Are Military Recruiting Centers Easy Terrorist Targets?

Well, as long as military personnel remain unarmed at the recruiting centers, they'll continue to be targeted.

At Twitchy, "ICYMI: You’re about to see why Katie Pavlich’s enraged reaction to Chattanooga shooting has 1K retweets."

And at CBS News San Francisco:

#Chattanooga Officials Comb Through Shooter's History in Search of Motive

It's not just Chattanooga officials but federal authorities as well.

Yeah, I guess it's better to be circumspect about the motive until there's some kind of hard evidence, although if you eschew the typical political correctness at a time like this, it's terribly obvious. (That is, if you're a normal and normal-thinking person.) The shooter Abdulazeez was a hardcore jihadist. It's not hard.

In any case, at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Live Updates":

SCENES OF PANIC

A normal workday for many Chattanoogans swiftly turned to bedlam as the shootings began.

Bobby Gray dropped his son, Nicholas, off at the Lee Highway military recruiting office a little after 10:30 a.m. to sign up for the Air Force.

Less than an hour later, Gray answered a call from his son.

"Hey, I don't know if you've heard, I'm fine," Nicholas said.

Nicholas told his dad he was sitting at the recruiting desk when the shooting started. An Air Force recruiter started to shout and helped everyone through a back door, where they huddled in a storage unit.

Two Marines ran out the front door after the shooter, trying to stop him, but he sped away.

When Gray walked back inside the building, there was a bullet lodged in his camouflage backpack.

"I'm just relieved he's OK," Bobby Gray said of his son.

Multiple witnesses at the Lee Highway site said the driver sprayed bullets into at least four of the five branches of the military's offices before he zoomed away.

Keegan Green, who was laying down mulch across the street at McDonald's, said he saw the shooter unload two clips, never leaving his car. When Green ran across the highway to see if anyone was hurt, the shooter sped away toward Highway 153.

"I'm CPR-certified and I wanted to check to see if anyone was hurt," he said.

Chloe Carter was handing an order out of the McDonald's drive-through window when she heard what sounded like hammers banging. She looked up and saw screaming people running out of businesses across the street.

"I've never seen anything like this," she said.

Keith Wheatley, the property manager of the recruiting center building, said he arrived about five minutes after the shooter left.

When he walked inside he said, "It looked like a TV set."

Bullets were lodged in the walls and in television sets, he said. Four of the five branches of military offices located at the recruiting center had been shot at.

"It was obvious that they were intentionally shooting at all five branches of the military."

At Carquest Auto Parts downhill from the U.S. Army Recruiting Office, counter salesman Fred Wright said he heard the shots, then saw recruiting office personnel come running.

"All of them starting running through the brush and the briars," Wright said. "One of them was yelling, 'Call 911, someone's shooting at us.'"

Workers reported similar scenes around Amnicola Highway as police filled the area and barricaded off a long stretch of the road.

The Marines were killed at the Navy Operational Support Center, often referred to as a "reserve center." The center is home of Battery M, 14th Marines, known as Mike Battery.

It's used by both Navy and Marine personnel to provide training and readiness support for reserve components to support the services. The Navy maintains 123 such facilities across the United States and its territories, according to The Associated Press.

Mike Battery members have deployed three times for service in the Iraq war. During its first deployment, 2004-05, members took part in the Battle of Fallujah, and members deployed stateside to provide aid in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The troops were unarmed. A day after the gunman attacked the unit, Gen. Ray Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, told reporters that arming troops in those offices could cause more problems than it might solve...

Lots more at the link.

Ruling in Twitter Harassment Trial Could Have Enormous Fallout for Free Speech

From Christie Blatchford, at Toronto's National Post:

What’s believed to be the first case in Canada of alleged criminal harassment-via-Twitter is just a judge’s decision away from being over.

After hearing closing submissions Tuesday from Chris Murphy, who represents 54-year-old Gregory Alan Elliott, Ontario Court Judge Brent Knazan is expected to rule on Oct. 6.

In the balance rides enormous potential fallout for free speech online.

Elliott is charged with criminally harassing two Toronto female political activists, Steph Guthrie and Heather Reilly, in 2012.

Allegations involving a third woman were dropped.

The graphic artist and father of four lost his job shortly after his arrest, which was well-publicized online, and if convicted, could go to jail for six months.

These are astonishing repercussions given that it’s not alleged he ever threatened either woman (or any other, according to the testimony of the Toronto Police officer, Detective Jeff Bangild, who was in charge) or that he ever sexually harassed them.

Indeed, Elliott’s chief sin appears to have been that he dared to disagree with the two young feminists and political activists.

He and Guthrie, for instance, initially fell out over his refusal to endorse her plan to “sic the Internet” upon a young man in Northern Ontario who had invented a violent video game, where users could punch an image of a feminist video blogger named Anita Sarkeesian until the screen turned red.

Guthrie Tweeted at the time that she wanted the inventor’s “hatred on the Internet to impact his real-life experience” and Tweeted to prospective employers to warn them off the young man and even sent the local newspaper in his town a link to the story about the game.

Elliott disagreed with the tactic and Tweeted he thought the shaming “was every bit as vicious as the face-punch game”.

Until then, the two were collegial online, with Elliott offering to produce a free poster for Guthrie’s witopoli (Women in Toronto Politics) group.

As serious as the ramifications of a conviction could be for Elliott, so could they be dire for free speech online, Murphy suggested in his final arguments.

He said the idea that all it takes to end up charged with criminal harassment is vigorous participation in online debate with those who will not brook dissent “will have a chilling effect on people’s ability to communicate, and not just on Twitter”.

In fact, Murphy said that contrary to what Guthrie and Reilly testified to at trial, they weren’t afraid of his client — as suggested by both their spirited demeanour in the witness box and their deliberate online campaign to call Elliott out as a troll.

Rather, Murphy said, they hated Elliott and were determined to silence him — not just by “blocking” his Tweets to them, but by demanding he cease even referring to them even in making comment about heated political issues.

To all this, Guthrie pointed out once in cross-examination that feelings of fear, like all feelings, “develop over time”, and snapped that she was sorry she wasn’t “a perfect victim” who behaved like a conventional victim.

The criminal harassment charge is rooted in the alleged victim’s perception of the offending conduct.

The statute says if that conduct caused the alleged victims “reasonably, in all the circumstances, to fear for their safety”, that’s good enough.

Yet Guthrie and Reilly didn’t behave as though they were remotely frightened or intimidated: They convened a meeting of friends to discuss how Elliott should be publicly shamed; they bombarded their followers with furious tweets and retweets about him (including a grotesque suggestion from someone pretending she was a 13-year-old that he was a pedophile); they could and did dish it out.

“They were not vulnerable,” Murphy said once. “They are very accomplished, politically savvy women. If they can’t handle being mentioned in the tail end of a political discussion (on Twitter), then they’re in the wrong business.”

Pft. Guthrie and Reilly should be the ones on trial here. They've obviously mounted a campaign to destroy Elliot, and they weren't scared a bit. They're typical far-left feminist social justice warriors out for the blood of those who dare to disagree.

Still more.

Robert Spencer Discusses #Chattanooga Jihad Massacre on Fox & Friends

A great discussion.

Watch, "Robert Spencer on Fox and Friends on the Chattanooga jihad massacre, July 17, 2015."

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie Ashley Smith Tells You All You Need to Kow About Texas (VIDEO)

Well, everything's bigger in Texas, but you knew that, lol.

At Sports Illustrated, "Ashley Smith tells you all about Texas -- SI Swimsuit."

Downtown Long Beach Faces Third Day Without Electrical Power

Local news reports a couple of nights ago showed manhole covers erupting with fire in downtown Long Beach. Electrical transformers were exploding. Authorities were warning residents to be extremely careful.

It turns out that power has yet to be restored to sections of downtown.

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "A third day in Long Beach without power for thousands":

LONG BEACH — Residents near downtown Long Beach face a third day without power after attempts by Southern California Edison to restore its underground power system failed early today.

A City of Long Beach statement said network re-tests Thursday night and early today were unsuccessful, and gave no time for a likely restoration.

More than 3,200 customers were without power at 2:30 a.m. today, according to Edison outage map. Intermittent power outages could be expected throughout today, according to the statement.

The outage will also impact freeway traffic, with northbound lanes of the 710 Freeway closed at the 3rd Street onramp, and southbound off ramps closed at Broadway and 6th Street.

The re-tests were to begin between 10 p.m. and midnight Thursday, Edison said. Broadcast reports showed footage of smoke and steam rising through manhole vents at about 2 a.m.

At the last update, at 2:23 a.m., 3,221 customers remained without power, Edison said.

The fires in three underground power vaults were reported about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday and initially cut power to around 4,800 customers, Edison said...

Updates here.

Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez Attended Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga

At Jihad Watch, "Chattanooga jihad murderer attended Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga":

Said Dr. Azhar S. Sheikh, a founding member of the center’s board: “We certainly do not want to be part of that demented ideology. That is not the message we preach here. What people do on the Internet or the World Wide Web or in their own homes, we can’t control that.”

But why did the message that was taught there give way so readily to the “twisted” and “hijacked” version of Islam that Abdulazeez supposedly picked up on the Internet? If the message of the Qur’an is peaceful and Islam is peaceful, as we’re constantly told, and if the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga taught Abdulazeez peaceful Islam, why didn’t he reject out of hand the “perversion” of Islam that violent jihadis supposedly proffer?

This mosque needs to be investigated. But it probably won’t be.

“Chattanooga Mosque Where Gunman Worshiped Mourns Marines,” by Richard Fausset, New York Times, July 16, 2015...

The Wine-Sipping Butchers of Planned Parenthood

Butchers. Murderers. The devil's henchwomen.

From Michelle Malkin, at Town Hall:

Hannibal Lecter ain't got nothing on the profit-maximizing abortion ghoul caught on tape hawking aborted baby parts as she swilled wine and nibbled on a gourmet salad.

In newly released undercover footage from the pro-life Center for Medical Progress, seasoned abortionist Dr. Deborah Nucatola, who serves as national senior director of "medical services" at Planned Parenthood, chitter-chattered eagerly about fulfilling the bloodthirsty demand for "intact hearts," "lower extremities" and lungs.

Price tag? "You know, I would throw a number out," she babbled breezily as she twirled her fork. "I would say it's probably anywhere from $30 to $100" per specimen.

Hollywood couldn't conjure monsters this chillingly, banally evil.

Nucatola exulted at how fetal livers have become tres chic: "A LOT of people" want them.

She then spoke of the new hot trends in body-parts trafficking as if she were raving about the latest craze for crop tops or artisanal cheese.

"I was like wow," she gushed to her potential clients about the market for unborn baby hearts, "I didn't even know!"

Like wow.

This master of murderous euphemism repeatedly referred to an unborn baby's head as a "calvarium" and casually described the tricks and techniques she and her fellow abortionists use to "increase your chance of success." Rotating the babies so they are delivered breech before being mutilated and slaughtered by the practitioners of Planned Butcherhood works fabulously, in case you were wondering.

Pausing only to swig more luxury libations from her jumbo wine glass, the loquacious death doc explained to investigators posing as fetal tissue company executives how her "providers" use "ultrasound guidance" to target the coveted body parts -- "so they'll know where they're putting their forceps."

In a singsong recitation, this lettuce-chomping Mengele in a silk tank top detailed how the "providers" use ultrasound to become "cognizant of where you put your graspers."

This method is not employed to reduce the pain and suffering of unborn baby and mother, mind you. It's to get "good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that -- so I'm not gonna crush that part. I'm going to basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact."

Think about that. Planned Parenthood has officially declared it "torture" for women to see their unborn children through ultrasound before submitting to abortion. The billion-dollar abortion industry has lobbied vociferously against increasing ultrasound access to pregnant women on the fence about abortion...

Sickening.

And there's still more.

#Chattanooga Terrorist Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez Spent Seven Months in Jordan Last Year — UPDATE! Suspect Also Visited Yemen!

Authorities are still trying to determine the "motive," as if it's any real mystery.

At WSJ, "Chattanooga Shooting Suspect’s Trip to Jordan Scrutinized by Authorities" (via Memeorandum and Protein Wisdom):

Counterterrorism investigators are looking closely at a monthslong trip the Chattanooga shooting suspect took to Jordan in 2014 to determine if he had contact with any extremists or traveled to other countries, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24 years old, spent about seven months in Jordan last year, according to one person close to the investigation. The visit was one of a number of trips he took to that country during his life. He also held Jordanian citizenship, officials said.

Mr. Abdulazeez died Thursday in a gunfight with police, after allegedly firing a rifle at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn. Four Marines were killed in the attacks.

Law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are now trying to determine if he made connections, or drew inspiration, on that trip to later commit an act of violence once he returned to the U.S., these people said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been tracking hundreds of suspected supporters of the terror group Islamic State, but Mr. Abdulazeez wasn’t on their radar as a potential threat, according to people familiar with the probe.

FBI officials are also examining two blog posts apparently written on Monday to see if they were written by the suspect. Even if he did write them, according to people close to the investigation, there is nothing suggestive of violence in the posts, and they don’t offer a motive for attacking U.S. military sites.

“Brothers and sisters don’t be fooled by your desires, this life is short and bitter and the opportunity to submit to Allah may pass you by,’’ one post said.

The case is being handled as a terrorism probe, though officials cautioned they still hadn’t determined a motive for the shooting.

Investigators are now scouring the details of Mr. Abdulazeez’s life, trying to determine if he had help, or if he had associates who also might pose a threat.

Meanwhile, the four slain Marines have been identified.

Thomas Sullivan, a native of Springfield, Mass and reportedly 40 years old., was named by that city’s mayor, Domenic Sarno. Skip Wells, 21 and a native of Marietta, Ga., was identified by family spokesman Andrew Kingery.

David Wyatt, 35, of Hixson, Tenn., and Carson Holmquist were named by a U.S. official. Mr. Holmquist’s age and hometown aren't known yet...

More.

UPDATE: At the Times of Israel, "Chattanooga gunman ‘spent time in Jordan and Yemen’":

The young American Muslim man who shot dead four US Marines in Chattanooga on Thursday visited Jordan and Yemen last year, Army Radio reported Friday.

According to the report, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez spent a month in Jordan in 2014, during which time he also visited Yemen. Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait, but was a naturalized American citizen who left for the United States with his parents in 1996.

Facebook Blocks Posting on Planned Parenthood Fetal Harvesting

Unreal.

At Twitchy, "Whoa: Is Facebook blocking posts exposing Planned Parenthood’s sick selling of body parts? [screenshot]; Updated."

Obama's Unsettling #Iran Press Conference

From James Taranto, at WSJ, "‘That’s What Politicians Do’."

#drylandsCA

At the Los Angeles Times, "A journey into the drylands."

Click here for some #drylands tweets.

And here.

Obama White House Celebrates Iran Nuclear Deal with Rainbow Lighting

Sounds about right, via Theo Spark.

11 Gorgeous Danish Models

At Maxim, "Gaze upon these Scandinavian beauties from 100 Great Danes."

I just love Nina Agdal, heh.

Chattanooga Shooting Gun Free Zone

At Megyn Kelly's, "'Gun Free Zone' Sign Spotted At Chattanooga Shooting Site."

.@megynkelly: "Look at at the bullet-riddled storefront. You can see a sign circled in red... It reads: 'No guns.'" pic.twitter.com/ixXdhBbAA4

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 17, 2015

And from Todd Starnes, "Chattanooga shooting proves it's time to arm our Armed Forces."

O'Reilly Factor: Shocking Undercover Video Shows a Doctor Discussing Selling Organs of Aborted Babies

From Wednesday night's O'Reilly Factor:

#PrayForChattanooga

At the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Sympathy for victims pours in following tragic Chattanooga shootings."

Mourners gather across Chattanooga to honor shooting victims: http://t.co/AGzuqBGa4v pic.twitter.com/KBvDLUQo3j

— Times Free Press (@TimesFreePress) July 17, 2015

Terror Immigration to America Must Stop

From Daniel Greenfield, at FrontPage Magazine, "If we really want to stop terrorism, the place to start is the airport":

Tennessee is to Muslim refugees as New York is to Muslim hijacked planes. Chattanooga, the site of the latest Muslim terror attack against America, is a “preferred community” for resettlement along with Knoxville and Nashville.

Nashville was designated a “Gateway City” for Iraqis. Hundreds of Somali Muslims were dumped in Shelbyville and the Murfreesboro Mega-Mosque became national news because of its terror ties.

Over the last decade, middle Tennessee’s Muslim population tripled.  The rise of Islam in Tennessee as Muslims from terror zones like Iraq and Somalia flooded its towns and cities brought hate and violence.

In Memphis, Imam Yasir Qadhi was caught on tape calling Jews and Christians filthy and declaring that Muslims can take their lives and property.  Last year the FBI warned of an ISIS threat in Memphis.

This year it was Chattanooga’s turn.

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the son of a Palestinian man and a Kuwaiti woman living in the United States, killed four marines. One of his targets, a recruiting center, was a gun-free zone. Those inside had no way to defend themselves. Their government had welcomed in the enemy and left them unarmed and helpless against his Jihad.

Obama refused to use the word “Terrorism”. Hillary Clinton claimed that the attack was “senseless violence.” But there was nothing senseless about it. It was an act of war, one of many, in a conflict that stretches back to the founding of the United States of America...

Keep reading.

Not a 'White Guy': #Chattanooga Shooter Identified as ISIS Terrorist and Kuwaiti Native

No, "not a white guy," which is why the left is going to go ballistic against any mention of "radical Islam" in the days ahead.

From Warner Todd Huston, at Right Wing News:

Some of the earlier reporting on the shootings at two Tennessee military centers identified the shooter as “a white guy.” Now we know this isn’t the case. The shooter has been id’d as a Middle Easterner from Kuwait. It is also clear that he was acting as a terrorist on behalf of the ISIS terror group.

Actually, I think we need more evidence on the ISIS connection, but he certainly wasn't a "white guy," to the everlasting dismay of the radical left terror-enablers, from Obama on down.

Sexy Nina Agdal and Dental Floss?

Hmm, I hadn't pictured Nina Agdal and dental floss before, but there's a first time for everything.

At GCeleb, "Nina Agdal Wore Dental Floss Underwear." (Via Linkiest.)

Palestinian Immigrant Girl Breaks Down in Tears as Angela Merkel Tells Her She'll Be Deported (VIDEO)

Heartless.

And everyone wants a better life. If you're a genuine refugee, you should have a chance. Looks like this young lady is going through the proper channels, or else she wouldn't be attending an official function with the chancellor.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "‘You Can’t All Come': Palestinian Immigrant Girl Bursts Into Tears After ‘Heartless’ German Leader Angela Merkel Explains Personally to Her on TV Exactly Why She Must Be Deported."

Jury Finds Colorado Theater Shooter Guilty on 165 Counts

I wrote all about this case at the time.

No surprise about the verdicts.

At the Los Angeles Times, "James Holmes found guilty of murder; shooter in Colorado theater massacre killed 12 people":

The jury weighing the fate of Aurora, Colo., gunman James E. Holmes on Thursday found the 27-year-old former neuroscience graduate student guilty of murder and attempted murder in a trial that has grabbed international headlines.

The verdicts - guilty on all 165 counts - were announced on the second day of deliberations.

The courtroom was silent as Arapahoe County Judge Carlos Samour Jr. read the verdicts. Holmes stood motionless beside his attorneys as Samour read the names of the victims - the men, the women and the child who were murdered, and those who were injured.

Dozens of names rang out in a process that was strangely dry after the deep emotion of the three-month trial. As Samour read the names and the charges against Holmes, the only other sound was the rustle of pages as he made his way through the 165 charges.

"Verdict form Count 1, murder in the first degree after deliberation, Jonathan Blunk," he began. "We the jury find the defendant James Eagen Holmes guilty of murder in the first degree after deliberation."

Jurors left unanswered Part B of every count: "Did you find the defendant not guilty on this count solely based on the defense of insanity?" And they answered "yes" to Part C of each three-part count: "Did the defendant use, or possess and threaten the use of, a deadly weapon?"

The process took about an hour.

Legal experts following the trial were shocked by the jury’s speed.

“I am very surprised the jury is back with a verdict so soon, especially since the judge told the jury it had to work through each and every count,” said Rick Kornfeld, a former assistant U.S. attorney. “It’s hard to read the tea leaves regarding a short deliberation in a long trial, but it certainly means that the losing side was not in the game in the eyes of the jury in terms of the strength of their argument."

Holmes had faced 165 felony counts, including murder in the first degree, in the July 20, 2012, multiplex massacre, which left 12 people dead and 70 others wounded in one of the worst mass shootings on American soil.

The trial now enters the penalty phase. Samour told jurors that court will be in session again on Wednesday and admonished them not to talk about the case and to ignore all media reports in their five days off.

“You’ll have two options,” Samour told the jury after the verdicts were read, “life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Those are the only choices.”

That Holmes carefully planned the horrific attack, cased the suburban Denver movie theater, strapped on an assault rifle, a shotgun and a Glock pistol and blasted his way through a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" was never in doubt...

Doesn't look like he's getting any slack for his psychiatric illness. He was pretty messed up in the head, but hey, it's premeditated and the jury believes he retained moral reasoning, apparently.

Obama Statement on #Chattanooga Shootings Makes No Mention of Islamic Terrorism (VIDEO)

In contrast to Chattanooga, Obamanation used the Charleston shooting to attack our "dark history" of racism and to push for gun control.

Despicable.

Here's the statement, from AP:



Added: At Twitchy, "Try ‘systemic assassinations’: Michelle Malkin fixes Obama’s statement after the Chattanooga attack."

Islamic State Tweeted Warning Ahead of #Chattanooga Terror Attack: 'O American Dogs!' — UPDATED!!

The war is coming home.

ISIS tweeted a warning, "O American Dogs!"

Via Atlas Shrugs.



UPDATE:

Nice Deb reports that the ISIS tweet came hours after the attack occurred. See, "ISIS Tweeted ‘Chattanooga’ After Shooting Rampage."

@AmPowerBlog @BluegrassPundit It was actually hours after. 12:34 PST. Everyone (including me) has been getting that wrong.

— Nice Deb (@NiceDeb) July 16, 2015

Earlier Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge also reported that the suspect was "ISIS-linked," based on the tweet embedded above. I have no word if Fox News has corrected the claim, although Weasel Zippers is still running with the story at the time of this update (4:11pm).

ADDED: Now Herridge is arguing that ISIS is "celebrating" home grown Islamic jihad on Twitter, via the O'Reilly Factor (5:20pm).

Chattanooga Shootings Leave Five Dead

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is live blogging, "LIVE UPDATES: Attacker identified in shooting attack on military installations that killed four."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Chattanooga Shootings Leave Four Marines, Sole Gunman Dead":

A gunman opened fire at two military recruiting centers in Chattanooga, Tenn., Thursday, killing four marines before dying from a gunshot wound, authorities said.

“Today is a nightmare for the City of Chattanooga,” said Mayor Andy Berke.

A police officer was also among the injured. Mayor Berke said others also were hurt, but not seriously

The first shooting took place around 10:45 a.m. at a military recruitment center at a shopping area on Lee Highway, east of downtown. The four marines were killed at that center. The suspected gunman then drove away, and a short time later, about 6 miles away, opened fire at a recruitment center near a park by the Tennessee River and wounded the police officer.

The gunman died near that center, officials said.

Officials declined to identify the victims until their families had been notified.

FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Reinhold said the suspected gunman, who he wouldn't identify, lived in the Chattanooga area and died either by gunfire from law enforcement or from a self-inflicted wound.

“We haven't determined whether it was an act of terrorism or a criminal act,” he said. Authorities are investigating “every possible avenue,” he said.

He said the shooting was carried out by a single shooter. “We have no reason to believe anyone else is involved,” he said.

The shooter wasn't an employee of the centers, Mr. Reinhold said...

More.

And at the New York Times, "Gunman Kills 4 Marines at Tennessee Military Site":

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A gunman opened fire on a Navy and Marine reserve center in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday, leaving four Marines dead, and wounding several others, including a Marine recruiter and a police officer, officials said. The gunman was also killed.

“Somebody brutally and brazenly attacked members of our armed services,” the police chief, Fred Fletcher, said during a news conference.

The shooting reportedly began at about 10:45 a.m. at a recruiting center on Lee Highway and ended about 30 minutes later at the reserve center on Amnicola Highway. Armed with numerous weapons, the gunman fired a barrage into the reserve center, officials said, and photographs showed the windows of the site riddled with bullet holes.

United States Attorney Bill Killian said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would take the lead on the case, which he initially called an “act of domestic terrorism” before backing away, saying that the investigation would determine how the crime should be labeled.

Later, a law enforcement official, who did not want to be identified, said the gunman was Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. Edward Reinhold, the F.B.I. special agent in charge in Knoxville, said at the news conference that officials believed that the gunman was “probably from this area, or at least is residing in this area prior to the event.”

Mr. Reinhold said hundreds of agents would be involved in the investigation by the end of the day, though he cautioned that “we have no indication that it’s tied to anything at this point.”

Law enforcement officials said that Mr. Abdulazeez had not been under investigation by the F.B.I. but that analysts and agents were combing files for any possible evidence that he had ties to a foreign terrorist group.

All of the deaths occurred at the second shooting scene, which sits between Amnicola Highway and a pathway that runs through Tennessee RiverPark on the Tennessee River northeast of downtown. Many of the businesses nearby are light industry...

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez Identified as Suspect in Chattanooga Shootings."

Many Youth Say They Are 'Almost Constantly' Online. Is Internet Addiction a Concern?

Of course it's a concern.

Spend some time around teens and you'll see why. Internet addiction crowds out everything else, and it's not just teens.

At the New York Times, "Is Internet Addiction a Health Threat for Teenagers?"

And see previously, "Screen Addiction Takes Toll on Children."

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez Identified as Suspect in Chattanooga Shootings

Well, that really does put a sort of interpretation on the murders, but let's not jump to conclusions, or anything.

On Twitter:

NEW: #Chattanooga shooting suspect ID'd as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, law enforcement sources tell CBS News http://t.co/2ToNoHTmQk

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 16, 2015

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez Identified as #ChattanoogaShooting mass Jihad Murderer http://t.co/jLi0xywnmB

— Pamela Geller (@PamelaGeller) July 16, 2015

Muhammad Abdulazeez identified as gunman who murdered four Marines in Chattanooga http://t.co/UmzoNuclOi pic.twitter.com/rnveHNlMBE

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) July 16, 2015

And at Gateway Pundit, "4 MARINES DEAD – “American Dogs” ===> #ISIS Linked Islamist Account TWEETS About Chattanooga Shootings BY ISLAMIST KILLER."

Plus, at CBS, via Memeorandum, "4 Marines killed in attacks on Chattanooga military facilities."

Cecile Richards Throws Deborah Nucatola Under the Bus in Response to Baby Harvesting Allegations (VIDEO)

Watch: "In the video, one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect" the alleged compassion of Planned Parenthood.

Well, there's going to be lots more videos of Planned Parenthood staff around the country talking about baby body-part harvesting, so we'll see about speaking "in a way that does not reflect" the values of Planned Parenthood. My guess is that we'll see lots more PP staffers talking about fetal harvesting no differently than if they were taking their car in for its 100,000 mile service.

All in a day's work for the left's Holocaust provider.

Brazilian Playboy Model Ana Braga 'Lullabies' Behind the Scenes

At Egotastic!, "ANA BRAGA WET BLOUSE NAUGHTY FOR NEW MODELING (VIDEO)."

BONUS: "ANA BRAGA BOUDOIR SEXTASTICA FOR THE SOUTH AMERICAN BUNNY."

Attacks on French Jews Have Doubled Since Charlie Hebdo Attack

Calls for the Jews to leave France are boiling up again of late.

Here's Ezra Levant, via Blazing Cat Fur:

More Videos to Be Released of Alleged Planned Parenthood Fetal Harvesting from Abortions

The story is getting major mainstream media coverage. It may not be the coverage conservatives want, but the story's definitely out there, and it's not good for the baby-killing left.

Planned Parenthood "won't make anyone available" for interviews with CBS News.

At CBS News, "Anti-abortion group: More Planned Parenthood videos coming":

Congressional Republicans say they will launch an investigation of Planned Parenthood as a result of an undercover video released by the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group, asserting the women's health organization sells body parts from abortions.

The founder of the Center for Medical Progress also told CBS News his group has up to a dozen additional videos of top officials from Planned Parenthood across the country talking about the sales, which will be released in the days to come, reports CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford.

Two members of the group posed as employees of a biotech firm to get access to a top doctor at Planned Parenthood. It was part of a two-and-a-half-year sting operation, and over lunch, they secretly recorded the whole conversation.

"A lot of people want intact hearts these days," Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, said in the video.

In graphic detail, Nucatola described how to preserve valuable fetal tissue during an abortion.

"We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part. I'm gonna basically crush below. I'm gonna crush above and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact," Nucatola said.

Over wine and salad, she answered questions about the organization providing fetal tissue to researchers -- typically for a fee.

"I would say it's probably anywhere from $30 to $100, depending on the facility and what's involved," Nucatola said.

The backlash was immediate. Republican presidential candidates pounced.

"I just think it's outrageous and disgusting," Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said.

And Congress announced it will investigate...

More.

Bernie Sanders Tech-Savvy Campaign Shakes Up Presidential Race

At the Los Angeles Times, "The savvy tech strategy fueling Bernie Sanders' upstart 2016 campaign":

Bernie Sanders is more likely to sport a rumpled suit than a hoodie, has no affinity for geeking out on the gadgets of Silicon Valley and may prefer the company of protesters over programmers — yet no candidate running for president is more successfully leveraging technology.

The liberal Vermont senator’s rapid rise from a token leftist to a rival with the potential to disrupt Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton’s path to the nomination confirms that technology, as political data wizards like to say, has become an equalizer in modern campaigns.

“It is extraordinary how this has revolutionized politics in America,” Sanders said in an interview. He is the first to admit that he is no techie. “I consider myself smart enough to hire excellent people who know its importance.”

The Sanders ascent is built on deft use of the campaign tools first developed a decade ago by fellow Vermonter Howard Dean. During his 2004 campaign for president, Dean also was not particularly tech-savvy, but his message resonated with those who were.

Sanders is the same. Recently, he overtook Clinton in the number of people searching for his name on Google. His Senate Facebook page has 1.3 million followers, more than any other senator.

An online effort to get volunteers to throw house parties in support of Sanders on a day this month has so many people signing up that the campaign is trying to figure out how to coordinate it all.

“Can you imagine 20 years ago anyone thinking you could sit down in front of your computer and talk to tens of thousands of people in America at once and do it at such a reasonable cost?” Sanders said.

Nobody doubts Sanders’ ability to draw a crowd. But until recently, a fiery liberal like him would have had considerable difficulty creating a durable campaign operation out of the large groups of peaceniks, environmentalists and college professors turning out to see him in liberal towns like Madison, Wis., and Iowa City, Iowa.

Now, off-the-shelf technology is available to build detailed profiles of the thousands who come to rallies and use the data to find many thousands more just like them in early-voting states. Sanders’ staff can tap into a massive voter file the Democratic National Committee makes available to candidates to pinpoint with precision which people who show up at a rally are prospective precinct captains in Iowa...

More.

And at Althouse, "'Wow. Did you give any actual thought to your choice of the headline and photo for this article?'"

The West's Position on Iran

A cartoon, from Bosch Fawstin.

Hat Tip: Doug Ross, "Larwyn's Linx: Manufacturing Consent: Democrats Pretend to be 'Skeptical' of the Iran Deal."

Obama's Iran Deal Wasn't About Thwarting Iranian Nuclear Capabilities

Well, cementing some kind of legacy as a "peacemaker" has long been central to the administration's Iran diplomacy. Hostility to Israel has also been a key driver. I mean, the criticism of the Iran deal has been long in coming. Everyone knows that there's going to be no way to verify Iranian compliance, since access to Iran's nuclear sites isn't guaranteed. Charles Krauthammer, for one, has pointed this out for awhile.

In any case, check out Abe Greenwald, at Commentary, "The Deal Wasn’t About Iran’s Nukes":

If you think the United States just struck a poor nuclear deal with Iran, you’re right; but if that’s your key takeaway, you’re missing the point. Iran’s nuclear program was last on the list of the Obama administration’s priorities in talking to Tehran. The administration readily caved on Iran’s nukes because it viewed the matter only as a timely pretense for achieving other cherished aims. These were: (1) preventing an Israeli attack on Iran; (2) transforming the United States into a more forgiving, less imposing power; (3) establishing diplomacy as a great American good in itself; (4) making Iran into a great regional power; and (5), ensuring the legacies of the president and secretary of state as men of vision and peace.

The administration has always viewed Israel as an intractable troublemaker and the main catalyst for the region’s woes. An Israeli strike on Iran, especially if supported by the United States, would have been yet another display of destabilizing Israeli aggression that put Middle East peace further out of reach. Barack Obama, therefore, repeatedly warned Israel against attacking Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu complied, and for his compliance White House officials taunted him in 2014 as a “chickenshit” whose window of opportunity had closed. That window is now barred. The Iran deal states that the U.S. will train Iranians to counter any sabotage attempts on its nuclear facilities and systems. This is aimed at frustrating Israeli action...

Continue reading.