Los Angeles Superior Court Issues Restraining Order Barring Release of New Planned Parenthood Videos

At the Sacramento Bee, "Court bars anti-abortion group from releasing new videos" (via Weasel Zippers):

LOS ANGELES - A temporary restraining order has been issued preventing an anti-abortion group from releasing any video of leaders of a California company that provides fetal tissue to researchers. The group is the same one that previously released three covertly shot videos of a Planned Parenthood leader discussing the sale of aborted fetuses for research.

The Los Angeles Superior Court order issued Tuesday prohibits the Center for Medical Progress from releasing any video of three high-ranking StemExpress officials taken at a restaurant in May. It appears to be the first legal action prohibiting the release of a video from the organization.

The Center for Medical Progress has released three surreptitiously recorded videos to date that have riled anti-abortion activists. The Senate is expected to vote before its August recess on a Republican effort to bar federal aid to Planned Parenthood in the aftermath of the videos' release.

In a statement Wednesday, center leader David Daleiden said StemExpress was using "meritless litigation" to cover up an "illegal baby parts trade."

"The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work," he said.

StemExpress is a Placerville-based company started in 2010 that provides human tissue, blood and other specimens to researchers. Planned Parenthood is one of the company's providers of fetal tissue.

A company spokesman said StemExpress is "grateful its rights have been vindicated in a court of law."

More at that top link.

Hackers Trick Email Systems Into Wiring Them Large Sums

It's a jungle out there.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Cybercriminals are exploiting publicly available information and weaknesses in corporate email systems to trick small businesses into transferring large sums of money into fraudulent bank accounts."

15-Year-Old Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, Suspect in Madyson Middleton Murder, to Be Tried as Adult, Faces Life Sentence

Here's my previous reporting on this horrible, horrible story, "Teen 'Lured' 8-Year-Old Santa Cruz Girl Into Apartment Before Killing Her, Dumping Body in Recycling Bin (VIDEO)," and "Santa Cruz Leftists Shocked — Shocked! — by Vicious Murder of Innocent 8-Year-Old Madyson Middleton."

There's no death penalty for minors, of course, otherwise prosecutors certainly would have sought his execution.

Here's the latest, at ABC 7 News San Francisco, "TEEN CHARGED AS ADULT FOR SANTA CRUZ GIRL'S DEATH."

The lovely little Madyson was bound with duct tape, raped, strangled and stabbed to death.

More at SFist, "15-Year-Old Suspect Named, Charged as Adult In Rape and Murder Of Maddy Middleton."

And at the Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Santa Cruz teen charged as adult in brutal homicide of 8-year-old."

Santa Cruz Leftists Shocked — Shocked! — by Vicious Murder of Innocent 8-Year-Old Madyson Middleton

Santa Cruz, California, where Utopian citizens live in a vacation from reality year-round, until something like the heinous murder of this sweet little girl shocks their leftist "pacifist" sensibilities.

Believe me, crime will surge in California in the years ahead, with criminals being released from the prisons under Prop. 47, and even more so as the Obama administration rushes to empty the jails of so-called "non-violent" criminals nationwide.

Even leftist enclaves push back when their cherished retreats from reality get threatened.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Shock in Santa Cruz over girl's killing, boy's arrest: 'These are our babies'":

The Tannery Arts Center sprang from the utopian ideal of creating a sanctuary for artists and their families — one intended to shield painters and sculptors from Santa Cruz's rising rents, while providing a cocoon around the creative community's many children.

But the creative Eden could not keep out a parent's worst nightmare. Police on Tuesday arrested a 15-year-old neighbor of Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, saying the boy lured the 8-year-old girl into his family's apartment Sunday and killed her, then hid the body in a dumpster-sized recycling bin.

Many residents had held out hope that Maddy, a vivacious girl last seen riding a scooter Sunday afternoon, would be found alive. The discovery of her body Monday night was a stunning blow to many in the complex.

To learn on Tuesday that another resident was suspected in the killing was too much.

“We're just devastated. These are two of our kids, and one is dead and one has been taken away. And it's horrible. It's just horrible,” said resident Yasmina Porter, a dance professor at Cabrillo College. Her children, ages 11 and 13, played with both the victim and the suspect, she said.

“From the community's standpoint, we mostly feel like these are our babies,” Porter said. “This is the most horrible thing you can imagine.”

Authorities said they believe Maddy willingly went into the boy's apartment, where they were alone.

“She was 8 years old,” said Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel. “I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him.”

Vogel said police were waiting for forensic results and did not give a cause of death.

Authorities did not identify the suspect because he is a minor. Shocked residents described him as “sweet” and said he was well-known for his prowess with a yo-yo.

Porter said the suspect was quiet and polite, and that his mother prepared food and invited neighbors over during holidays.

The eight-acre complex resembles a modern college campus — one especially welcoming for children who play, paint sidewalks with chalk and ride bicycles on its landscaped grounds.

It opened at the site of the historic Salz Tannery, which once supplied more than half of all saddle leather produced in California. The center's 100 housing units were completed in 2009, funded by the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency and a nonprofit developer.

Denise Kiser Shaw said she was taking a class Sunday afternoon and remembered seeing Maddy wearing a purple dress and riding the silver scooter.

“She was going back and forth on her scooter,” Shaw said. “She would peek into the door while we were working.”

By the end of the class, there was a commotion in the courtyard about the missing girl.

“We knew that there was something terribly wrong,” Shaw said. “It was like, it must be some stranger who grabbed her.”

Shaw called the complex an oasis for artists that “feels safe.”

“The children are out like little butterflies,” Shaw said. “It's a contained area … it's like, OK, you stay here in the courtyard and you ride around and you wait for your friend.”

Yeah, those leftist "safe spaces" aren't so safe after all.

Freakin' hippies. Idiots and leftist freakin' hippies.

Stil more.

PREVIOUSLY: "Teen 'Lured' 8-Year-Old Santa Cruz Girl Into Apartment Before Killing Her, Dumping Body in Recycling Bin (VIDEO)."

Body by Victoria's Secret Summer 2015

Like I've been saying, it's mid-summer and Victoria's Secret's going to be gearing up for its fall fashion show, which will be spectacular.

Watch, "Behind the Scenes of the Body by Victoria Shoot (July 2015)."

Planned Parenthood and the Price of Aborted Baby Parts

From Charles Krauthammer, at the Washington Post, "The price of fetal parts":

“Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you.”

— Barack Obama, address to Planned Parenthood, April 26, 2013

Planned Parenthood’s reaction to the release of a clandestinely recorded conversation about the sale of fetal body parts was highly revealing. After protesting that it did nothing illegal, it apologized for the “tone” of one of its senior directors.

Her remarks lacked compassion, admitted Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. As if Dr. Deborah Nucatola’s cold and casual discussion over salad and wine of how the fetal body can be crushed with forceps in a way that leaves valuable organs intact for sale is some kind of personal idiosyncrasy. On the contrary, it’s precisely the kind of psychic numbing that occurs when dealing daily with industrial scale destruction of the growing, thriving, recognizably human fetus.

This was again demonstrated by the release this week of a second video showing another official sporting that same tone, casual and even jocular, while haggling over the price of an embryonic liver. “If it’s still low, then we can bump it up,” she joked, “I want a Lamborghini.”

Abortion critics have long warned that the problem is not only the obvious — what abortion does to the fetus — but also what it does to us. It’s the same kind of desensitization that has occurred in the Netherlands with another mass exercise in life termination: assisted suicide. It began as a way to prevent the suffering of the terminally ill. It has now become so widespread and wanton that one-fifth of all Dutch assisted-suicide patients are euthanized without their explicit consent.

The Planned Parenthood revelations will have an effect. Perhaps not on government funding, given the Democratic Party’s unwavering support and the president wishing it divine guidance. Planned Parenthood might escape legal jeopardy as well, given the loophole in the law banning the sale of fetal parts that permits compensation for expenses (shipping and handling, as it were).

But these revelations will have an effect on public perceptions. Just as ultrasound altered feelings about abortion by showing the image, the movement, the vibrant living-ness of the developing infant in utero, so too, I suspect, will these Planned Parenthood revelations, by throwing open the door to the backroom of the clinic where that being is destroyed.

It’s an ugly scene. The issue is less the sale of body parts than how they are obtained. The nightmare for abortion advocates is a spreading consciousness of how exactly a healthy fetus is turned into a mass of marketable organs, how, in the words of a senior Planned Parenthood official, one might use “a less crunchy technique” — crush the head, spare the organs — “to get more whole specimens.”

The effect on the public is a two-step change in sensibilities. First, when ultrasound reveals how human the living fetus appears. Next, when people learn, as in these inadvertent admissions, what killing the fetus involves.

Remember. The advent of ultrasound has coincided with a remarkable phenomenon: Of all the major social issues, abortion is the only one that has not moved toward increasing liberalization. While the legalization of drugs, the redefinition of marriage and other assertions of individual autonomy have advanced, some with astonishing rapidity, abortion attitudes have remained largely static. The country remains evenly split...

Well, public support for homosexual "marriage" and licentiousness has already tanked since the Obergefell decision, and folks are having second thoughts about the legalization of marijuana. What's going to take is a change in leadership at the very top. We know that the left is moving into its Thermidorean phase. Now's the time to crush the death-worshiping regressives while their down.

Keep reading.

Bikini Scenery

At London's Daily Mail, "Babe watch! Brooke Burke, 43, shows off her toned body in a skimpy striped bikini while splashing around the Malibu surf."

And, "'Home away from home': Alessandra Ambrosio shows off her enviable figure in patterned monokini as she admires the scenery in Rio de Janeiro."

BONUS: At Egotastic!, "LISA OPIE BIKINI HOTNESS IN MIAMI."

Deals in Outdoor Toys & Games

At Amazon, Shop Outdoor Toys & Games - Soak Up Summer Event.

Plus, check out Mary Katharine Ham's new book, with Guy Benson, End of Discussion: How the Left's Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun).

'The truth is Planned Parenthood doesn’t want the truth to come out about their abortion business and will do whatever they have to in order to stop it...'

From Sarah Zagorski, at Life News, "Planned Parenthood Threatens TV Stations Demanding They Censor Shocking Undercover Videos."

And ICYMI, "Damage Control: Planned Parenthood Hires Crisis Communications Firm."

Pro-Life Forces Step Up Attacks on Planned Parenthood

Good.

At FOX 4 News - Dallas-Fort Worth:



Planned Parenthood hate publicity, so now more than ever grassroots protests will be very effective. Big grassroots protests.

American Charged with Planning Backpack Bomb Attack

At BCF, "A Florida man has been charged with planning to detonate a backpack bomb on a public beach in Key West in support of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant."

They're here.

As long as Democrats and leftists act like ostriches, then Americans can expect more deaths from Islamic jihad.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Sentenced to Death Over War Crimes

Muammar Gaddafi's son.

Fuck 'im.

At the Guardian UK, "Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam sentenced to death by court in Libya."

Plus, at Euronews, "Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: Libya's failed reformer," and "Libya: Rights groups slam death sentence for Gaddafi son."

Dreamy Ellie Goulding

At London's Daily Mail, "Ellie Goulding's outfit has us dreaming of autumn."

And that one time Robert Stacy McCain blogged Ellie Goulding, at the Other McCain, "Randomly: Movin’ On Up, Sign Wars,Half-Breeds and Diamonds to Sand."

Los Angeles in the Running for 2024 Olympics

At the Los Angeles Times, "Boston ends bid to host 2024 Olympics, giving Los Angeles an opportunity," and "U.S. Olympic Committee contacts Los Angeles about 2024 Summer Games."

Texas Reporter Confronts Woman Accused of Stealing His Identity (VIDEO)

At FOX 4 News - Dallas-Fort Worth, via Memeorandum, "FOX 4 reporter confronts woman accused of stealing his identity."

Donald Trump Says He'd Tap Sarah Palin for a Cabinet Post

She should be appointed Secretary of the Interior, to open up federal lands for oil exploration and development. Or perhaps Energy Secretary would be good as well.

At Politico:

Donald Trump has succeeded in alienating many of his fellow Republicans with his personal attacks, but if he does win in November 2016 and is forced to assemble a cabinet of GOP allies, he knows exactly whom he would call on: Sarah Palin.

When asked on Sarah Palin’s Mama Grizz Radio’s “The Palin Update” Monday whether he would seek the former Alaska governor’s advice as president or potentially appoint her to an executive-branch position, Trump said, “I’d love that.”

Also at the Hill, "Trump: 'I'd love' to have Sarah Palin in my administration."

In Addis Ababa, Megalomaniac Obama Tells African Leaders He'd Win a Third Term (VIDEO)

He's a narcissist and a megalomaniac who laughs at his own jokes, as if he's the center of the world. It's sickening.

Background at the New York Times, "‘Nobody Should Be President for Life,’ Obama Tells Africa."

2015 MCAS Air Show Miramar

It's a little more than a month away.

See, "2015 Miramar Air Show Schedule | MCAS Miramar Air Show."

Donald Trump Throws 'Adviser' Michael Cohen Under the Bus

At CNN, via Memeorandum, "Trump adviser Michael Cohen apologizes for rape comment."

Plus, "Trump on Michael Cohen: 'He's speaking for himself..."

And ICYMI, at the Other McCain, "A Cheap ‘Rape’ Smear on Trump."

BONUS: From Dylan Byers, at Politico, "Some thoughts on The Daily Beast vs. Donald Trump."

A Renegade Trawler, Hunted for 10,000 Miles by Vigilantes

An example of non-governmental actors at work.

Pretty fascinating.

At the New York Times, "For 110 days and across two seas and three oceans, crews stalked a fugitive fishing ship considered the world’s most notorious poacher":

A renegade trawler, hunted for 10,000 miles by vigilantes http://t.co/SMTVQkp50N pic.twitter.com/lnFX6IiwZr

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 29, 2015

ABOARD THE BOB BARKER, in the South Atlantic — As the Thunder, a trawler considered the world’s most notorious fish poacher, began sliding under the sea a couple of hundred miles south of Nigeria, three men scrambled aboard to gather evidence of its crimes.

In bumpy footage from their helmet cameras, they can be seen grabbing everything they can over the next 37 minutes — the captain’s logbooks, a laptop computer, charts and a slippery 200-pound fish. The video shows the fishing hold about a quarter full with catch and the Thunder’s engine room almost submerged in murky water. “There is no way to stop it sinking,” the men radioed back to the Bob Barker, which was waiting nearby. Soon after they climbed off, the Thunder vanished below.

It was an unexpected end to an extraordinary chase. For 110 days and more than 10,000 nautical miles across two seas and three oceans, the Bob Barker and a companion ship, both operated by the environmental organization Sea Shepherd, had trailed the trawler, with the three captains close enough to watch one another’s cigarette breaks and on-deck workout routines. In an epic game of cat-and-mouse, the ships maneuvered through an obstacle course of giant ice floes, endured a cyclone-like storm, faced clashes between opposing crews and nearly collided in what became the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing vessel in history.

Industrial-scale violators of fishing bans and protected areas are a main reason more than half of the world’s major fishing grounds have been depleted and by some estimates over 90 percent of the ocean’s large fish like marlin, tuna and swordfish have vanished. Interpol had issued a Purple Notice on the Thunder (the equivalent of adding it to a Most Wanted List, a status reserved for only four other ships in the world), but no government had been willing to dedicate the personnel and millions of dollars needed to go after it.

So Sea Shepherd did instead, stalking the fugitive 202-foot steel-sided ship from a desolate patch of ocean at the bottom of the Earth, deep in Antarctic waters, to any ports it neared, where its crews could alert the authorities. “The poachers thrive by staying in the shadows,” Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Barker, said while trying to level his ship through battering waves. “Our plan was to put a spotlight on them that they couldn’t escape.”

The pursuit of the Thunder until its sinking in April, pieced together from radio transmissions, interviews, ship records and reporting on board the Bob Barker and its fellow ship, the Sam Simon, demonstrates the anything-goes nature of the high seas, where weak laws and a lack of policing allow both for persistent criminality and, at times, bold vigilantism.

Illegal fishing is a global business estimated at $10 billion in annual sales, and one that is thriving as improved technology has enabled fishing vessels to plunder the oceans with greater efficiency. While countries, with varying degrees of diligence, typically patrol their own coastlines, few ever do so in international waters, even though United Nations maritime regulations require them to hold vessels flying their flags accountable for illicit fishing.

That leaves room for organizations like Sea Shepherd, which describes itself as an eco-vigilante group, flies a variation of the Jolly Roger on its ships and often cites the motto, “It takes a pirate to catch a pirate.” In chasing the Thunder, Sea Shepherd’s goal was not just to protect a rapidly disappearing species of fish, its leaders said, but to show that flagrant violators of the law could be brought to justice...

Keep reading.

More #drylandsCA

At the Los Angeles Times.

"How many dry riverbeds do I have to walk before I stop feeling shocked?" #drylandsCA: http://t.co/gZWXhgkqLw pic.twitter.com/zFTtAJHqLe

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 28, 2015

The good news is that the El Niño system is genuinely expected to bring more rain and alleviate some of the drought. See, "July's record-breaking rainfall may not be over yet."

PREVIOUSLY: "#drylandsCA."

Teen 'Lured' 8-Year-Old Santa Cruz Girl Into Apartment Before Killing Her, Dumping Body in Recycling Bin (VIDEO)

That's the grim headline at KTLA 5 Los Angeles, at Memeorandum.

And here's CBS News San Francisco:

Damage Control: Planned Parenthood Hires Crisis Communications Firm

The left's abortion Holocaust industry leader, in damage control mode.

At Politico:

Planned Parenthood has hired high-profile Washington public relations firm SKDKnickerbocker as it scrambles to deal with the ongoing scandal and release of a third undercover video Tuesday showing a clinic’s staff handling fetal tissue after an abortion.

The additional PR firepower reflects the growing pressure on the women’s health organization amid building GOP calls to cut its $540 million in government funding. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this week called to halt Planned Parenthood’s federal funding while Congress investigates whether the organization broke a federal ban on profiting from fetal tissue donation. The Senate plans to hold a vote on a defunding amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and others that is likely to fail.

SKDKnickerbocker is no newbie to working on Planned Parenthood issues. The Democratically aligned firm is run by well-connected operatives, including Anita Dunn and Hilary Rosen. It also worked with the group during the 2012 election cycle, according to SKDKnickerbocker’s website...

Well, Anita "Mao Tse" Dunn is no slouch at damage control, to say nothing of Hilary "Ann Romney Stay-at-Home Mom" Rosen.

More at Memeorandum.

EARLIER: "Grisly New Video Shows Doctor Harvesting Aborted Baby Parts for Planned Parenthood Black Market."

Kate Moss for Love Magazine

On Twitter, "Kate Moss by David Sims wears Balmain Fall/Winter 2015 Lace Body Look 10 styled by @kegrand for @THELOVEMAGAZINE."

More from photographer Katie Eleanor Grand, on Twitter.

And from Drunken Stepfather, "KATE MOSS FOR LOVE MAGAZINE OF THE DAY."

Charlotte McKinney: They're Real. And They're Spectacular (VIDEO)

Watch, at GQ, "Charlotte McKinney: The 5 Things I Say When I'm Asked If They're Real."

BONUS: At the link, "CHARLOTTE MCKINNEY TOPLESS ON INSTAGRAM! Blonde bombshells blonde bombshells!" Also at WWTDD, "Charlotte McKinney Topless on Instagram."

Britain's Lord Sewel Resigns House of Lords After Snorting Cocaine with Two Hookers (VIDEO)

He's a former Labour peer.

The story first broke at the Sun UK, "Lord Coke: Top peer’s drug binges with £200 prostitutes ... And he’s the the one in charge of standards."

More at Sky News, "Lord Sewel Steps Down From House of Lords."

And at Telegraph UK, "Lord Sewel resigns and faces police inquiry after 'snorting cocaine with prostitutes'."

Grisly New Video Shows Doctor Harvesting Aborted Baby Parts for Planned Parenthood Black Market

Good timing.

From The Center for Medical Progress, "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE #PPSellsBabyParts EX-CLINIC WORKER REVEALS PROFIT MOTIVE IN PLANNED PARENTHOOD BABY PARTS SALES, VP MEDICAL DIRECTOR PRICES BODY PARTS ..."

Also at Live Action, "BREAKING: New undercover video shows sorting of aborted baby parts at Planned Parenthood."

Conservatives Harden Opposition to the Export-Import Bank

I've gotta confess, this debate over the Ex-Im bank is completely esoteric. I mean, what does this bank even do? And I guess that's it. Total establishment cronyism.

At Foreign Policy, "Ahead of Friday Deadline, Conservatives Harden Opposition to the Export-Import Bank":

The fate of the Export-Import Bank, a key funding source for small businesses that want to do business abroad, and whose charter expired at the beginning of July, will soon be in the hands of the House of Representatives. Conservative lawmakers there are now preparing to buck their party’s mainstream in an attempt to kill something the White House and U.S. businesses say is necessary to stay competitive globally.

If this sounds familiar, it should.

A similar scenario played out in June, during the debate about fast track trade authority, something President Barack Obama and GOP leadership said was needed to push through trade bills like the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Conservative Republicans teamed up with some Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a close ally of the White House, to delay its passage. Obama ultimately got what he wanted when the renegade Democrats, boxed in by their leader, relented and voted for fast track.

This time, however, conservative members of the GOP and those affiliated with the Tea Party are on their own. Populist Democrats who initially rejected Obama on trade in this case support the bank, known as the Ex-Im. During a rare Sunday vote, senators voted 67 to 26 to attach the bank’s reauthorization to the highway bill, which faces a Friday deadline. The highway bill either has to pass by then, the House could vote on for a five-month extension, or some other compromise must be reached.

But that doesn’t mean Republicans can’t slow down the process. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants the bank reauthorized. But House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Monday he would not bring the bill to the floor of the lower chamber. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, also has said he would not support the bill...

More.

Donald Trump Sells New York Penthouse for $21 Million

Twenty-one million doesn't go that far in presidential politics, so maybe this is just the beginning of an asset selloff for Trump. He's gonna need lots more liquid cash if he's going to contest the primaries all the way through next June.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Located on the 24th floor of the 32-story building, the 6,200-square-foot condo has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms."

RELATED: At Politico, "Donald Trump’s cash will only take him so far in 2016":

The Donald has pledged to self-fund his campaign, but his cash position isn’t even close to what he would need to make it to the White House.

Rising Costs Strike at German Competitiveness

At WSJ, "Companies grapple with labor expenditures that threaten growth, investment in Europe’s largest economy":

FRANKFURT—Spiraling German labor costs are starting to undermine the country’s famed competitiveness, threatening to hurt economic growth and investment in Europe’s largest economy.

Propelled by a healthy economy and record-low unemployment, labor costs here are rising fast, as the government has further tightened its grip on the labor market, driving up companies’ wage bills.

Official German data published this month showed that real wages in the first quarter rose at their fastest rate since late 1992, when wages in East Germany shot up following the country’s unification, and much faster than the eurozone as a whole.

German businesses say they are feeling the pinch, but in Berlin, politicians have ignored a trend economists and managers warn that, if left unchecked, will hit growth and employment levels.

“Rising labor costs is the most critical issue,” said Martin Kapp, the chief executive at machine-tool maker KAPP Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH, who said he expects increases in personnel expenses, which include wages as well as contributions to social insurance, retirement and health care, among other costs, to rise about 30% over the next 10 years...

Keep reading.

Cecile Richards Defends Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Baby Body Parts, Calls Pro-Lifers Killers

From Steve Ertelt, at Life News.

I was going to post the video, but ABC News yanked the interview from its YouTube page. Which is strange, because it was up there on Sunday.

BONUS: From Mollie Hemingway, at the Federalist, "The 4 Most Embarrassing Things Cecile Richards Said In Defense of Planned Parenthood."

Ford Bets on Super-Duper Class of Pickups

I love the new Ford 150, from what I've seen on TV.

But they're more luxurious than I thought.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Auto Makers Double Down on Pricey Pickups."

How and Why to Kill the Iran Deal

From Caroline Glick, at the Jerusalem Post.

Khloé Kardashian Complex Cover Behind the Scenes

Here, "Behind the scenes of Khloé Kardashian's August/September 2015 cover for Complex."

Hat Tip: London's Daily Mail, "'You don't give me credit for my daily workouts!' Khloé Kardashian shuts down 'troll haters' by posting unretouched image from Complex spread."

Boy Scouts of America to Lift Ban on Homosexual Adults

Hey, gotta go with the flow, I guess.

At ABC 10 News, San Diego, "Boy Scouts board ends ban on gay scout leaders."

Also at CNN, "Jon Langbert, a former Boy Scout leader who is gay, says that the lifted ban on gay adult leaders does not go far enough."

Doesn't go far enough? You'll notice that the goal isn't so much to allow gays to participate in the Boy Scouts, but to once again banish altogether the role of religion out of American life, public and private.

This whole turn is horrendous. See, "The Same-Sex Marriage Bait-and-Switch."

Turkey Riles U.S. Ally in Fight Against Jihadists

At WSJ, "Kurdish Troops Fighting Islamic State in Syria Say Turkish Forces Shelled Them":

Kurdish fighters who are allied with Washington accused Turkey of shelling their positions in Syria, a sign of the difficulties Ankara and the U.S. face as they boost cooperation to fight Islamic State militants.

Monday’s accusation came from the Kurds’ People’s Defense Units, a Syrian group that has emerged as the most effective U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamist extremists. Its role has complicated matters for Turkey, which is worried about growing Kurdish influence along its border with Syria and an emboldened Kurdish minority seeking more autonomy at home.

Turkey said its forces were fired upon from unidentified sources across the Syrian border and that it responded with artillery. It said it was investigating claims that several Kurdish fighters were wounded but that the Syrian-Kurdish defense units, known as the YPG, “do not fall within the scope of Turkey’s war on terror.”

U.S. officials said Monday that they weren’t aware of any border attack but stood by Turkey’s right to defend itself.

The episode underscores the fragility of an agreement between the U.S. and Turkey for American jets to use Turkey’s air bases to strike Islamic State positions and help create a 60-mile-long buffer zone in Syria for moderate rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The details have yet to be worked out. Meanwhile, Turkey itself has also begun launching airstrikes against Islamic State targets.

Turkey’s new more aggressive stance is sure to emerge on Tuesday in Brussels at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting, which Ankara called to discuss its security threats, including recent bouts of violence that have killed scores of Turkish civilians and security officials.

But as the U.S. tries to compartmentalize long-standing political differences between Turkey and Syrian Kurds, the two sides appear to have come into confrontation.

The YPG, which controls a swath of territory in northeast Syria along Turkey’s border, accused the Turkish army of hitting positions in the area with tank fire on Friday and injuring several villagers and four allied fighters from the Western-backed moderate Free Syrian Army rebel group. The Kurdish group said the Turkish military shelled the same village on Sunday and fired on a vehicle nearby.

“Instead of targeting Islamic State terrorists’ occupied positions, Turkish forces attack our defenders’ positions,” the YPG said. “We are telling the Turkish army to stop shooting at our fighters and their positions.”

Meanwhile, Ankara is also getting dragged deeper into a major regional conflict that it had sought to avoid, adding an additional layer of complexity to the patchwork of alliances—including Sunni rebel groups, jihadists, Kurdish militias and forces loyal to Mr. Assad—which are vying for influence along Turkey’s southern borderlands...

Keep reading.

California Democrats Proclaim 'Climate Change' Top Legislative Priority

Leftists are so stupid.

From Joel Kotkin, at the O.C. Register, "Putting climate change ahead of constituents."

Abigail Ratchford Pool Vixen

Watch, at Playboy's YouTube page, "Abigail Ratchford Proves She's The Ultimate Pool Vixen."

Naftali Bennett: Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran is a 'Farce'

Via the BBC:

Palestinians in Hebron Stalk Hyena on the Highway, Corner It, and Then Stone It to Death (VIDEO)

Hey, it's all fun and games to chase down a hyena to stone it to death, right?

All from the "religion of peace" folks.

Remember, these people feel the same way about Jews.

Demonic.

At Bare Naked Islam, "HEBRON: Palestinian savages corner a hyena in the road with their cars and then have fun stoning him to death."

Mike Trout Hits Grand Slam Into 'Trout Net' in 13-7 Win Over Rangers at Angel Stadium (VIDEO)

Folks are starting to describe Mike Trout with words like "magical" and "historic."

He's still only 23-years-old.

At Bleacher Report, "Mike Trout Crushes Grand Slam, Ball Lands in Fan's 'Trout Net'."

And at the O.C. Register, "Angels star Mike Trout's grand slam caught in the 'Trout Net'":

ANAHEIM – Just when we all might think that Mike Trout’s heroics can’t possibly get any more spectacular, the Angels’ reigning AL MVP did something magical Sunday once again.

In the sixth inning of the Angels victory over the Texas Rangers, Trout blasted Spencer Patton’s 93 mph, down-and-in fastball into the Angel Stadium bleachers in right center field for a grand slam.

But this was a grand slam dunk, the home run landing in the 2-foot-diameter netted basket of the “Trout Net” sign held high by Angels fan Jonathan Plaza, who was standing in the second row of the stands in Section 240.

Trout’s grand slam, the third of his career, gave the Angels an six-run lead en route to a 13-7 victory. It was Trout’s second home run of his 4-for-4 day, and his league-leading 31st of the season.

Just before Trout came to the plate with the bases loaded, Plaza, 25, of Santa Ana, borrowed back his homemade net sign from the young fans standing in the row in front of him.

“I said, ‘Let me have it back because I have a hunch something’s going to happen,’” Plaza recalled. “Then Trout hit it. I saw the ball. It was going deep. I jumped up with the sign and I caught it.”

This was the first home run Plaza has ever caught, but not the first baseball Trout has been sending his way.

Plaza and his son, Alexander, who turns 4 in September, have made their Trout Net a ballpark fixture since this season’s home opener. That was the first day they came with their sign, a red-netted ring topped by the white letters “Trout Net,” with Trout’s number, “27,” and photos of a diving Trout around the rim.

Alexander first held up the sign at the opener and several other home games. Trout has spotted the sign and made a habit of trying to lob baseballs into the net during warmups. Right fielder Kole Calhoun has also taken aim at the Trout Net.

Earlier this season, Trout posted a photo of Alexander with the Trout Net and the message, “I see you out there bud!” on Instagram.

"Magical."

See what I mean?

More at that top link.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Mike Trout's grand slam leads Angels in 13-7 win over the Rangers."

The Coming (and Hilarious) Democrat Implosion

From Kurt Schlichter, at Town Hall:

Republicans fear a repeat of 1992, with a squishy Bush at the head of the ticket watching helplessly as some populist businessman/novelty act hands the election to a Clinton. But Democrats should fear the far more likely repeat of 1968.

Ah, the 1968 convention … just thinking of it brings a smile to the face of every normal American. Let’s start with hordes of Chicago cops kicking the psychedelia out of dirty hippies. Footage of all-American flatfoots clocking VC-flag waving pinkos with nightsticks is more erotic than a hundred “Fifty Shades” books. Just thinking about it makes me want to light up a Marlboro and cuddle.

Then there was the fun and games inside the convention hall – nothing like blue stater on blue stater fratricide to quicken the pulse and put a spring in your step. That glorious intramural warfare led to a Republican president. It may well again in 2016.

Back in 1968, the Democrat Party was divided between liberals who loved America and liberals who hated everything about it. The situation is a little different now, with today’s Democrat Party divided between liberals who hate everything about America and liberals who really, really hate everything about it.

The delightful scene at Netroots where Martin O’Malley was forced to do penance before a jeering crowd of washed-out undergrads for the sin of saying “All lives matter” was a harbinger of the future. The Democrats are on the verge of being sucked into their own vortex of progressive insanity that will bar them from any chance to reach out of their psychotic echo chamber to normal Americans. It serves them right...

He's good!

More at that top link.

99 Ranch Supermarket Replaces Ralphs Grocery Store in Alhambra, Stirring Backlash

Damned rednecks, heh.

I've got a 99 Ranch right across the street in my Korea- and China-town neighborhood. Hardly anyone speaks English over there. Spanish maybe, since there's also a hand-car wash at the shopping center as well.

Welcome to 21st century California. You'd think those Alhambra yokels would get with the program.

At the Los Angeles Times, "In Alhambra, an Asian market replaces a Ralphs and stirs cultural anxiety":

As classic diners and soda fountains gave way to double-decker strip malls packed with Chinese restaurants, Margie Myers, a resident of Alhambra for 64 years, didn't say much.

She weathered friends and neighbors moving away and endured the steady retreat of English from storefront signs.

But the change she couldn't accept came in June, when the Ralphs on Alhambra's Main Street closed and was replaced by 99 Ranch, an Asian supermarket.

"I know the city's changing," Myers said. "That's just inevitable. But does it have to change our supermarket?"

Few hallmarks of demographic change generate as much controversy as the death of the neighborhood grocery store.

This spring, Alhambra residents packed City Council meetings at the news that the Ralphs on Main Street was closing, though the city had no role in the renting of the space. Rumors flew of Chinese ownership driving up rental prices to kick Ralphs out, though the property owners are not Chinese and Ralphs decided not to renew an expiring lease.

The debate over Ralphs contained all the fears and frictions found in any rapidly changing community. Longtime residents couldn't accept that demographic change had reached their grocery baskets. Immigrants and newcomers complained of xenophobia and racism in the opposition's protests.

Alhambra's conflict echoes in communities across the Southland. Latino grocery stores move into South Los Angeles and a mini-Wal-Mart battles for market share in Chinatown, said Min Zhou, a professor of sociology at UCLA.

"It's almost like all of the fear and anxiety over demographic change focuses on a grocery store," Zhou said.

Since Ralphs Store No. 199 closed in March, Myers has been driving three miles farther to Pavilions in South Pasadena for her groceries. It's a short journey that begins in one era of the city and takes her through another.

She backs her Chevy Tahoe out onto a quiet tree-lined street of ranch-style homes. Her father, an Army veteran and former professional baseball player, bought their house new in 1947 for $10,700, and the city identified it as a historic neighborhood in 2005. She's lived here all her life...

Embrace the suck, lady. Oops, I mean embrace the change! Embrace the change!

More.

Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?

Melissa Clouthier tweets a powerful yet depressing report at the New York Times, "Do American Christians care?"

Again, a longer piece. Better get a cup of coffee before chilling with it.

Horror: Woman Killed After Sucked Into Escalator at Shopping Center in China

It was monster escalator that sucked her down into the jaws of death.

This is freakin' unbelievable. The only consolation is that she was able to save her baby.

Truly horrific. Rescuers found her body only hours later.

At LAT, "China aghast as woman crushed by escalator at shopping mall."

Here's the video: "Woman's shocking escalator death sparks calls for answers in China."

#StopIranRally

I couldn't make it up to L.A. yesterday, which is a bummer. Looks like it was a big event.

At ABC 7 News Los Angeles, "Hundreds protest Iran nuclear deal in Westwood."

BONUS: At ABC 10 News San Diego, "San Diegans protest Iran Nuclear Deal."

#Cuckservative

That hateful Deutschephysik Twitter account was tweeting the #Cuckservative hashtag over the weekend. ICYMI, "Deutschephysik: Gotta Be a Parody Account, Right?"

Actually, I'm not sure that was a parody account.

But no fear, Robert Stacy McCain is here with the lowdown. See, "About the #Cuckservative Thing: By Whom Is the ‘New Right’ Being Trolled?" Also, "Notes on Survival Amid the Madness."

Rae Returns for Zoo Today

Here, "Rae: behind the scenes pictures and videos from her rude poolside return!"

Watch: "Rae hits the pool in her very rude return! | ZOO Magazine."

Donald Trump Destroys the 'Conventional Wisdom Establishment', is Boon to GOP

From Mary Matalin, at the Trump symposium at Politico, "'Donald Trump is not only not hurting the GOP, he is a boon to it'":

With apologies to, and respect for, my conservative friends and colleagues, Donald Trump is not only not hurting the GOP, he is a boon to it.

Candidates would be well advised to pay close attention to the forensics of his approach, and apply their own unique personalities and policies to their campaign efforts. And the GOP leadership should quit insulting him, giving him an excuse to mount a third party candidacy.

Among other strategic and tactical triumphs, Trump is exhibiting in pulsing neon colors the contemporary political parallel universes of Common Sense America and Conventional Wisdom Establishment. CS America is, and has been for some time been, so over the incompetent, posturing national politicians as well as their irrelevant agenda issues and their counterproductive policies. They are aching for candidates with authenticity who will address their everyday concerns. AND do not presume a preference for their common sense world makes them redneck philistines.
.
Further he is exposing the multiple fallacies of CW Establishment politics, to wit: appealing to nontraditional GOP voters requires narrow and corrupt Identity Politics tactics; message resonance demands mandatory acceptance of any and all CW Politically Correct premises, including gratuitous, phony, solicitous kowtowing to the media; that strict avoidance of establishmentarian “third rail” issues is political kamikaze.

Once he gets to the debates, he will have to connect his bombastic iconoclastic antics to authentic policy prescriptions, as well as demonstrate his potential effectiveness by past performance metrics

Bottom line: he will not blow up, but could pump up overly-reserved candidacies.

See the full symposium, "How Does Trump End?"

Plus, at CBS News New York "Trump Rising In Polls."

PREVIOUSLY: "Surging Donald Trump Leads GOP Field in New Hampshire, Second in Iowa, New Poll Shows."

China Stocks Plunge Amid Fears of Beijing Pulling Back

I just love the smell of Chinese markets crashing in the morning.

At the Wall Street Journal, "China Stocks Tumble 8.5%, Calling Into Question Beijing’s Ability to Prop Up Market":

Chinese shares suffered their biggest one-day drop in more than eight years, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars of market value and calling into question the effectiveness of Beijing’s recent efforts to prop up the market.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which includes China’s biggest companies, fell 8.5% to 3725.56, with the losses coming mostly during a hectic last two hours of trading on Monday afternoon. More than two-thirds of the 1,114 companies included in the index fell by the 10% daily maximum allowed under local market rules.

The smaller Shenzhen market fell 7% to 2160.09, bringing its losses to 31% since it hit a record high in mid-June.

Traders and analysts listed several reasons for the sudden slide, which came amid relatively thin trading volumes. Some cited fears about the effect of an unwinding of heavy borrowing that investors have used to buy shares. Others pointed to concern that the government could soon pull back on its recent attempts to underpin the market.

A spokesman for China’s top securities regulator tried to allay some of these concerns, saying late Monday night that the government will step up its purchases of stocks. Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the CSRC-owned company that has been buying up battered shares didn’t “exit” the market. Mr. Zhang said the company, called China Securities Finance Corp., will “increase its holdings” of stocks “at appropriate times” and will continue to fulfill its role in “stabilizing the market.”

Mr. Zhang also pledged to root out any “malicious” stock sales by individuals that authorities think could wreak havoc on the market.

Monday’s big decline shows investors have become skeptical of the market and of the government’s ability to control it. China’s stock market has a history of volatility, and government-engineered bull markets have sometimes ended with spectacular selloffs that left stocks languishing for years.

China’s top leaders, currently gathering for their annual summer talks at the northern seaside town of Beidaihe, will have on their agenda what further action they can take to bring stability back to the stock market and to prevent the market’s problems from spreading to other parts of the economy...

Keep reading.

Margaret Sullivan's 'Public Editor's Comment' for Botched New York Times Report on Hillary Clinton's Emails

ICYMI at the time, see Instapundit, "PATHETIC: HILLARY CLINTON’S CAMPAIGN ‘STEAMROLLED NYT FOR A REWRITE’ (AND GOT IT)."

And now from ombudsman (woman) Margaret Sullivan, at the Old Gray Lady, "A Clinton Story Fraught With Inaccuracies: How It Happened and What Next?"

No one trusts the Times to report critically --- much less accurately --- on anything the puts Hillary Clinton in a bad light. And no public editor's non-apology is going to change that fact. The leftist bent of the newspaper is too deeply embedded. When conservatives run for office, they're not just running against Democrat candidates. They running against the entire Democrat Media Complex, whose CINC is NYT chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Dog-Walker Attacked by One-Eyed Wild Boar

Right out of "Game of Thrones.

Gnarly.

Her wounds required 10 stitches on her legs.

At the Sydney Morning Herald, "Canberra woman attacked by wild pig in Jerrabomberra."

At 71, Keith Richards Still Enjoys His 'Early Morning Joint'

Whatever gets you through the night, or the morning, as the case may be.

At the Independent UK:

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, 71, still enjoys 'an early morning joint' http://t.co/aAN5rTpq0o pic.twitter.com/Kf11nA9CaZ

— The Independent (@Independent) July 27, 2015

Morning Selfie from Kate Upton

It's sometimes weird to see big celebrity tweets pop up in your TL. And Kate Upton doesn't tweet a whole lot in any case.

She looks great, here.

Obama Meets with Ethiopia Leaders for Talks on Terrorism, Human Rights and Regional Security

At Time, "Obama Arrives in Ethiopia, a Favored Ally In Spite of Human Rights Abuses."

And at USA Today, "Obama talks about security and human rights in Ethiopia."

Surging Donald Trump Leads GOP Field in New Hampshire, Second in Iowa, New Poll Shows

Heh, those McCain comments only boosted Trump's

This is a NBC, via Memeorandum, "NBC/Marist Polls Show Donald Trump Running Strong in Iowa, NH."

And at WSJ, "Donald Trump Tops GOP Field in New Hampshire, Second in Iowa: Poll":

NBC-Marist poll of NH: Trump 21%, Bush 14%, Walker 12%, Kasich 7%

— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) July 26, 2015

NBC-Marist poll of Iowa: Walker 19%, Trump 17%, Bush 12%, Carson 8%, Huck 7%

— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) July 26, 2015

Donald Trump isn’t just the leading Republican candidate in the national polls – a barometer of name recognition – he is now looking strong in the early presidential nominating states where voters are paying attention.

An NBC News/Marist poll released Sunday found the New York developer in first place among New Hampshire GOP primary voters and two percentage points behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Iowa.

Mr. Trump carries 21% of the New Hampshire GOP primary electorate, a decisive lead over second-place Jeb Bush, who had 14%, the poll found. In Iowa, Mr. Trump is at 17%, with Mr. Walker at 19%.

The poll found a strong early showing in New Hampshire for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who at 7% is in fourth place among GOP voters there. Mr. Kasich, who formally launched his presidential campaign Monday, has just 2% support in Iowa, good for 11th place among the 17 Republican candidates tested.

Until now, Mr. Trump had been in the lead of national polling but Mr. Walker and Mr. Bush led opinion surveys in Iowa and New Hampshire, home to the nation’s first two presidential nominating contests.

Mr. Trump campaigned Saturday in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he attacked the Wisconsin governor for the first time. Mr. Trump said “the gloves are off” after a fundraiser for Mr. Walker called Mr. Trump “DumbDumb” in an invitation to an event later this week.

Mr. Trump’s polling rise comes as he seems to have weathered the initial public storm over his belittling of Sen. John McCain’s war record. The NBC/Marist poll was conducted before and after Mr. Trump said Mr. McCain “is not a war hero.” Mr. Trump’s standing in Iowa increased after he made the incendiary remark, though he lost ground in New Hampshire, according to the poll.

Perhaps working in Mr. Trump’s favor is that twice as many Republican voters in both Iowa and New Hampshire said they’d prefer a GOP nominee who shares their positions on issues over one who has the best chance of retaking the White House for the party...

Still more, and at Memeorandum.

Trump's unfavorables are high but he's really connecting on the issues with base Republicans in the early states. The GOP establishment is seething with anger at Trump, which is the second stage in the five stages of grief.

Sunday Cartoons

Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Fight Club," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Round Up..."

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

Cartoon Credit: IBD.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

Nice legs.

On Twitter:

#impossibleisntfar pic.twitter.com/Wj0R5kQxZb

— Camille l.bazinet (@CamilleLbaz) July 26, 2015

Democrat Party's Future Isn't as Sound as You'd Think

A interesting (but long) piece from Suzy Khimm, at the New Republic, "The Obama Gap: A Case Study in Electoral Failure":

Obama’s electoral victories in 2008 and 2012 seemed to herald a new era of Democratic dominance built on a winning coalition of young and minority voters, one that would indicate a long-term, structural advantage for Democrats. It seemed to be the scenario John Judis and Ruy Teixeira famously predicted in 2002, at the nadir of Democratic influence during the Bush administration, in their book The Emerging Democratic Majority. Increasing urbanization, education, and racial diversity offered “fertile ground for the Democrats’ progressive centrism and postindustrial values.” A few days after the 2012 election, Teixeira, writing for The Atlantic, pointed to Obama’s success with minority voters over Mitt Romney (80 percent to 18 percent); with educated professionals (55 percent to 42 percent); and among young voters (60 percent to 37 percent). He reminded readers that Obama was “the first Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt to win successive elections with more than 50 percent of the vote, powered by the continuing rise of the coalition described in the book.” As Teixeira recently told me, while Democrats must be mindful of not continuing to hemorrhage white voters, “the advantages, all else equal, continue to increase.”

But set Obama’s impressive electoral victories aside and the Democrats look less like an emerging majority and more like a party in free fall: Since Obama was sworn in six years ago, Democrats have suffered net losses of 11 governorships, 30 statehouse chambers, more than 900 statehouse seats, and have lost control of both houses of the U.S. Congress. After the 2014 midterm rout, Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg penned a memo deeming it “remarkable”—an understatement—that voters had given Republicans so much control so soon after giving Democrats Rooseveltian wins nationally. The implications, Rosenberg warned, were dire: “The scale of Republican success in recent years outside the Presidency has altered the balance between the two parties now, and may even leave the GOP a stronger national party than the Democrats over the next decade.”

That has been the experience in Florida. Since 2008, the GOP has solidified its control of the Sunshine State. Republicans now hold every statewide office in Florida except for the Senate seat of Bill Nelson, a former astronaut who was first elected to Congress in 1979. In the statehouse, Republicans command a supermajority, which they used to create a redistricting map so heavily weighted in their favor—one congressional district was so convoluted it resembled a snake—that they were forced by a county court in 2014 to redraw it. And it’s all happened in the home of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Florida reveals the existential challenges the Democrats confront. The emerging Democratic majority may be an opportunity that Obama turned into reality. But unless Democrats find better ways to turn out their new voters—and win back more of the white voters flocking to the GOP—the party will continue to lose ground in Congress, governors’ mansions, and statehouses across the country—regardless of who wins the White House in 2016. To do that, Democrats will need better ways to organize their traditional party apparatus—or find new ways to leverage outside groups and spending to strengthen their ties with new voters before Republicans do. “Our party has a problem,” Wasserman Schultz said in a post-midterm “autopsy” video. “We’ve got to do better.”

Lots more at the link, and worth a read, but you'll need to grab a beer and chill with it for awhile.

Deals on Men's Classic Clothing

Good until July 31st, at Amazon, Shop Amazon Fashion - Men's Classic Clothing.

Plus, still hot for summer reading, Kirsten Powers, The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech.

ICYMI: Bruce Levine's The Fall of the House of Dixie

I'm really enjoying this book. A master account of the the Civil War, with the emphasis on "master."

Here: The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South.

Nice Catch

On Twitter:

Photo pic.twitter.com/E9bBQFlbya

— Tacticalpeaks (@tacticalpeaks) July 21, 2015

Meredith Hagner

Via Maxim:

Social Justice Authoritarianism: The New Religion of the Political Left

At Instapundit, Elizabeth Price Foley links to the power-packed essay at Medium, in April, from Aristotelis Orginos, "Social Justice Bullies: The Authoritarianism of Millennial Social Justice."

I read it about a month or two ago. Definitely a must-read piece that resides in the larger and growing canon on the American left's ideological overreach and vicious circular firing-squad implosion.

Police Find Decapitated Woman Inside Phoenix Home (VIDEO)

This is horrifying.

At the Arizona Republic, "Officers find woman's decapitated body, mutilated dogs in Phoenix" (at Memeorandum).

Also, watch at ABC News 10 Phoenix, "Woman, two dogs found decapitated in Phoenix home," and "Police arrest man who had cut off his arm, gouged out his eye."

Expect updates.

Students Take a Stab at Sword Swallowing

I don't know about this.

Sounds freakin' dangerous.

At WSJ, "Sword swallowers are on edge as TV and the Internet spur neophytes to guide sharp objects down their throats":

Don’t try this at home, the master of ceremonies of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow cautioned, and with good reason.

One performer was reclining on a bed of spikes. Another danced on a pile of broken glass. And his own “human blockhead” act involved hammering a nail into his nasal cavity.

Then there was Betty Bloomerz, who wore a black skirt and fishnet stockings as she moved playfully in time to Louis Prima’s swing classic “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

As about 30 spectators looked on in a small Brooklyn theater, Ms. Bloomerz tilted her head back, placed a foot-long blade into her mouth and, using her tongue, began to move it in time to the music. She let the sword drop downward until its metallic gold hilt came to rest near her bright red lips. Then she pulled it out with a flourish.

Point taken.

But Betty, whose real name is Kiri Hochendoner, wasn’t finished there. Also down her gullet went a wire hanger reshaped into an elongated oval, followed by two 20-inch blades, which she swallowed simultaneously.

“It’s all about safety here,” joked Ray Valenz, the MC. “Safety third!”

The crowd, which included children, shrieked and hooted with each grisly gulp.

Asked about the risks, Ms. Hochendoner, a sword swallower since 2008, said, “I’m not worried about it, I’m thinking about it.”

Specifically, she is focusing on relaxing her throat and esophagus. The more tense they are, the object-swallowing community says, the more chance of injury.

Dick Zigun, founder and artistic director of Coney Island USA, the nonprofit organization that operates the Coney Island sideshow and sideshow school, said he thinks sword swallowing might be his outfit’s most dangerous act.

“Knock on wood,” he said. “I’m very proud of the fact that 30 years into running the sideshow we have not had any major accidents here.”

He credits the school, which offers twice-yearly sword-swallowing classes, with making in-person instruction more available.

The number of professionals currently practicing the ancient art—believed to have originated in India 4,000 years ago—is a matter of debate. Mr. Zigun estimates about 150. Dan Meyer, a Tampa, Fla., practitioner who tracks the profession through his organization Sword Swallowers Association International, thinks the number is closer to a few dozen...

Ahem, I think I'll pass, lol.

Keep reading.

ADDED: Here's one of the dudes interviewed at the piece, Todd Robbins, doing it on YouTube.

Donald Trump Attacks Scott Walker at Oskaloosa Republican Rally (VIDEO)

He's going on the attack.

Watch, "Donald Trump Iowa Full Speech Presidential Rally Campaign."

Also at the Des Moines Register, "Trump's latest target in Iowa: Scott Walker."

And from the Guardian UK, "Donald Trump takes aim at Republican rival Scott Walker for Wisconsin record":

Des Moines Register's Henry Hahn in main auditorium covering event for us, I'm in overflow. Trump staff polite; Trump silent when he saw me.

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 25, 2015

Donald Trump on Saturday took shots at Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, the only Republican in a field of 16 who is leading the business mogul in Iowa polls.

Trump has surged in such polls nationwide, during a campaign in which he has caused controversy over immigration and with a widely condemned attack on the Vietnam war record of Senator John McCain.

On Saturday, Trump addressed a rally in Oskaloosa, Iowa from which his campaign had barred the Des Moines Register newspaper, which published a critical editorial about him. At the rally, he repeated several traditionally Democratic talking points in his argument against Walker, citing the governor’s record on infrastructure, education and healthcare among the reasons that he was unfit to be president.

Referring to a Walker supporter’s comment that Trump was a “dumb-dumb”, Trump said: “Today I read this horrible statement from a fundraiser about Trump, and I said, ‘Oh finally, I can attack, finally.”

“Wisconsin’s doing terribly,” Trump said. “First of all, it’s in turmoil, the roads are a disaster.”

He continued: “They projected a $1bn surplus, and it turns out to be a deficit of $2.2bn, and money all over the place, the schools are a disaster, and they’re fighting like crazy because there’s no money for the schools, the hospitals and education is a disaster, and he was totally in support of [controversial education policy] Common Core.”

The $2.2bn deficit cited by Trump actually refers to a “pre-budget estimate” of tax revenue compared with budget requests from Wisconsin state agencies, PolitiFact Wisconsin reported. Walker calculated a $3.6bn deficit when he took office, in order to justify cuts to public education and to limit unions’ bargaining power.

The state agency that calculates the pre-budget estimate found a $2.2bn shortfall in Wisconsin’s most recent budget cycle, which Walker oversaw. Wisconsin Republicans have blamed state Democrats for spreading the $2.2bn figure, despite using the same calculation themselves in previous years...

Keep reading. (Via Memorandum.)

Deutschephysik: Gotta Be a Parody Account, Right?

Even if it is parody, the hate in that "joke" about "tying down a beaner" just doesn't emerge from a vacuum.

Seriously, neo-Confederates might have a problem, but don't tell Stogie or he'll "block your ass."

It's still up on Twitter, amazingly.

The PKK: America's Marxist Ally in Iraq

This is a great piece.

I read it ungated on my iPhone last night, but it's behind the subscription wall now. No matter, just click through at the Google link and you can read it.

See, "A Personal War: America's Marxist Allies Against ISIS."

Democrats Struggle with #BlackLivesMatter

I think everybody struggles with #BlackLivesMatter, but to see the Democrats struggle is divine.

From Wesley Lowery and David Weigel, at WaPo, "Why Hillary Clinton and her rivals are struggling to grasp Black Lives Matter":

Amid the famous politicians, wealthy donors and top Democratic Party officials invited to New York last month to watch Hillary Rodham Clinton announce her presidential candidacy sat another VIP guest: a newcomer to politics, but a man whose presence at the event was sought by Clinton aides.

DeRay Mckesson, 30, one of the most visible organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement that has sprung up in the aftermath of protests in Ferguson, Mo., had received an invitation, and the campaign encouraged him to tweet his observations to his 178,000 followers.

He wasn’t impressed.

“I heard a lot of things. And nothing directly about black folk,” Mckesson wrote moments after the speech. “Coded language won’t cut it.”

Then, this week, Clinton rivals Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley each began a frenetic push to appease Black Lives Matter activists who are angry about the way the two men handled a demonstration by the group at a liberal conference last weekend. O’Malley, a former governor of Maryland, appeared on a black-oriented talk show to say he made a mistake, while Sanders, a senator from Vermont, called activists to request meetings.

The strained interactions demonstrate the extent to which a vibrant new force on the left has disrupted traditional presidential politics, creating challenges for Democratic candidates who are facing intense pressure to put police brutality and other race-
related issues on the front burner ahead of the 2016 election.

The rise of Black Lives Matter has presented opportunities for Clinton and her opponents, who are seeking to energize black voters to build on the multiethnic coalitions that twice elected Barack Obama. But the candidates have struggled to tap into a movement that has proved unpredictable and fiercely independent. It is a largely organic web of young African American activists — many of them unbound by partisan allegiances and largely un­affiliated with establishment groups such as the NAACP that typically forge close ties with Democrats.

Led by several dozen core activists, many of whom voted for the first time in 2008, Black Lives Matter has organized protests — at times drawing hundreds of participants — in more than two dozen cities and colleges. Many of the movement’s leading activists are among Twitter’s most influential users — with the ability to pump messages out to hundreds of thousands of people, often prompting topics to trend nationwide.

At times, they have pressured media outlets to cover stories surrounding race and justice, and they have leveled sharp critiques of politicians and celebrities that often go viral. In one such instance, activists blasted Clinton when she appeared at a black church near Ferguson last month and said that “all lives matter” — a phrase that struck the demonstrators as dismissive of the unique discrimination against African Americans by law enforcement officers.

The activists say they are ready to make their voices heard in the presidential race. Although they are pressuring candidates to talk more about police brutality, they say they intend to carve out a broader agenda encompassing other issues relating to systemic racism...

More.

Remember, though, #BlackLivesMatter is actually a revolutionary communist organization, and their program isn't about improving the lives of blacks. It's about overthrowing the entire U.S. "hegemonic" system.

Plus, hehe, see Mediaite, "DeRay McKesson: Leader, Activist, and Unrepentant Conspiracy-Monger."

After Awkward Exit, Josh Hamilton at Peace with the #Angels

From Helene Elliot, at the Los Angeles Times, "Rangers' Josh Hamilton is at peace, says he's not at odds with Angels":

#Angels lose, fall back into first-place tie with #Astros. Runs scored tonight: Josh Hamilton 2, Angels 2.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 25, 2015

Josh Hamilton: "They booed me when I’m here, they boo me when I’m not here."

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 25, 2015

Josh Hamilton: booed in Texas in '13, Anaheim tonight. Albert Pujols would be "shocked" if he were booed in St Louis: http://t.co/ARNKPVOm7b

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 25, 2015

In explaining how #Angels wanted him far from team, Josh Hamilton dropped a Timbuktu reference: http://t.co/wmLYbMtiHg via @helenenothelen

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 25, 2015

Outfielder Josh Hamilton said he has found a sense of serenity in Texas, now that his brief and troubled stay as an Angel is behind him and he has been allowed to see his daughters since he filed for divorce from their mother. "I think that's been my biggest peace," he said, "to be able to focus on just my girls and baseball."

It's unlikely that his new tranquillity was greatly disturbed Friday in his first visit to Anaheim since the Angels traded him back to the Rangers in late April. Making his seventh straight start after recovering from hamstring and groin injuries, he was booed when he caught a fly ball in the first inning, drew jeers and cheers when he struck out swinging in the second inning, and triggered a similarly mixed reaction when he lined a double off the right-field fence in the fifth. "I wasn't dreading it," he said before Friday's game. "I'm not dreading it now."

There wasn't much to dread, really. The intensity of fans' emotions flared and faded quickly, perhaps signaling that like Hamilton — who hit only 31 home runs in two seasons with the Angels and experienced a substance abuse relapse last winter but escaped a suspension — they've moved on to a better emotional place.

"I hope it has worked out for him," Angels reliever Huston Street said. "I hope he's in a good place. More than anything, everybody in here wanted him to recover personally. Baseball aside, I think that was everybody's first priority."

Hamilton is batting .250 in 22 games after going two for four and scoring twice Friday. He has three home runs and eight runs batted in. He said he's feeling fine physically and mentally and is more comfortable in the batter's box since he has been playing consistently. He said he's happy being back with the Rangers, who lost him to the Angels on a five-year, $125-million free-agent deal, on which the Angels are still paying more than $60 million of the $80-plus-million that remained when they traded him back to Texas in April.

"Any time you spend time in a place, there's some sweat and work. It always means something coming back," he said during an informal pregame news conference in the Rangers' dugout. "But for a lot of years I played on this side against the Angels and went over there and played for a couple and back over here now. It feels normal to be on this side over here."

His path back there wasn't smooth. He said he had the blessing of then-Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto to undergo shoulder surgery in early February, even though it meant he wouldn't be ready for spring training. He went to Houston to rehab and await instructions on when to rejoin the team, not knowing the Angels didn't even designate a locker for him at their spring training facility in Tempe, Ariz.

"And as it got about a couple weeks before spring training, we asked when do they want me to show up and rehab and all that stuff," Hamilton said, referring to him and his agent, Mike Moye. "They said, 'Well, we don't want you to show up in the spring. You can rehab in Dallas, you can rehab in Houston, you can rehab in Timbuktu, just don't come.'"

That response, Hamilton said, left him "probably a little bit kind of scared, I guess you'd say, and fearful maybe as far as certainty and what was going on because after that there was no contact."

An Angels spokesman said Friday the club would have no comment. Dipoto did not return a message left by Times baseball writer Bill Shaikin...

I was angry at Hamilton's play as an Angel, but when I read up on him, and found out about his family troubles and lost promise, I became sympathetic. And then even more so when I saw how the Angels management trashed him and threw him aside like a used up cheeseburger wrapper. I can see why he has so much good will flowing his way now.

More.

And see, "Angels fall to Rangers and into tie with Astros for AL West lead."

Charlotte McKinney Casting Call (VIDEO)

She's much more shapely than Kate Upton, although Kate's a litter cuter, IMHO.

At Sports Illustrated, "Charlotte McKinney SI Swimsuit 2016 Casting Call."

Alfonzo Rachel Excoriates Baby-Butchers of Planned Parenthood!

At Pajamas Media, "Abortion Enthusiasts Cross New Line | ZoNation."

And ICYMI, "Crush Planned Parenthood."

Donald Trump Arrives at Laredo International Airport in Private Jet to Talk Border Security (VIDEO)

Following-up, "Donald Trump Doubles Closest Competitor in Latest YouGov Poll of Republican Presidential Field."

Via Telegraph UK:

Donald Trump Doubles Closest Competitor in Latest YouGov Poll of Republican Presidential Field

Again, YouGov is not my favorite, although we'll be seeing lots more of these Internet panel surveys, so what can you do?

Here, "Donald Trump's support remains high following John McCain controversy" (at Memeorandum):

Donald Trump leads the GOP presidential field again this week, though controversial remarks about Sen. John McCain may have dented his popularity among Republicans.

Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican contest for the 2016 presidential nomination doesn’t appear to have been slowed much – at least not yet – by the recent controversy over his criticisms of Arizona Sen. John McCain’s war record last weekend. In fact, although Trump’s favorable ratings among Republicans have declined, he is still ahead – and far ahead – when Republicans are asked to choose among the 16 currently announced candidates.

In last week’s poll, Donald Trump received the highest favorable ratings of any candidate from Republicans, apparently helped by his tough position on illegal immigration. This week, however, Trump’s favorable ratings dropped 11 points, and his unfavorable rating has risen 15 points.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is now the best-liked GOP candidate. 63% of Republicans view Rubio favorably, and just 17% are unfavorable. Newly-announced candidate Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin also is rated more favorably than Trump.

Trump’s 42% unfavorable rating from Republicans is the highest negative rating given to a GOP contender from partisans, though it is just about matched by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s 39% negative assessment. More Republicans like Trump than like Christie, who gets a 46% favorable rating from members of his own party.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s favorable ratings this week are similar to those of Trump, though fewer Republicans rate Bush unfavorably.

But there is clearly a core group of registered voters who identify as Republicans that has coalesced around Trump’s tough talk and proposals. He is even more clearly in first place than he was two weeks ago when Republicans are asked to choose among the current candidates. Two weeks ago, in the Economist/YouGov Poll, 27% of registered voters who identified as Republicans chose Trump as their first or second choice for the nomination. This week, 28% say he is their first choice, and another 10% rank him second...

Notice the emphasis on "core group of registered voters," which is signaling to the RINO mofos to watch out, the pitchforks are coming after the treasonous establishment.

More at the Hill, "Trump denies credentials to newspaper that called for him to end campaign."

And at the Atlantic, "There's No Stopping the Trump Show" (via Memeorandum).