Dow Falls 1000 Points on Opening Bell

At Zero Hedge, where else?

"Blood on the Streets: Down Dumps 1000 Points at Open, Biggest Drop Since Lehman." Also, "#BlackMonday Now Trending on Twitter."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Dow Jones Industrial Average Plummets More Than 1,000 Points, Then Pares Losses":

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly plummeted more than 1,000 points on Monday, marking the index’s largest one-day point decline ever on an intraday basis, as intensifying growth fears sparked steep stock-market losses world-wide

The blue-chip benchmark dropped as much as 1089 points at the open before paring some of its losses. It was recently down 516 points, or 3.1%, to 15941.

The S&P 500 dropped 55 points, or 2.9%, to 1914, entering correction territory. The index hit an intraday low of 1866.86.

The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 150 points, or 3.2%, to 4555 after earlier dropping as low as 4292.14.

Investors stampeded into relatively safe assets such as U.S. government bonds, the Swiss franc and the yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped below 2% during Asian trading and recently was 1.976%, the lowest level since April.

Before the market opened, Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures triggered circuit breakers after falling at least 5%.

The New York Stock Exchange operator NYSE Group Inc. invoked the rarely used “Rule 48,” which relaxes some trading rules in a bid to ensure a smooth opening to trading. The rule is instituted when trading before the start of the regular session is especially volatile.

At the market open on Monday, a slew of single stocks and exchange-traded products triggered single-stock circuit breakers, which are initiated when there is a price drop of 10% or more in a five-minute period.

Fresh signs of a slowdown in China, the world’s second largest economy, have jolted stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities in recent days. Investors were further rattled Monday by the lack of fresh steps to stem the selloff over the weekend from Chinese authorities.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese central bank was preparing to flood the banking system with liquidity to increase lending, the latest in a series of measures designed to give the flagging economy a boost.

“A lot of markets abroad have seen a low amount of liquidity so investors are turning to the U.S. market to hedge,” said Jeffrey Yu, head of single-stock derivatives trading at UBS AG. Before the market opened, traders said futures volumes were extraordinarily heavy.

While the selloff began as an emerging markets story, with China’s stock market offering very little liquidity to investors due in part to technical stock-trading halts, investors have had to turn to the most liquid market to sell, which is the U.S., Mr. Yu said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has heavy international exposure, entered correction territory on Friday, defined as a decline of 10% from a recent peak.

Investors are increasingly skeptical that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting next month, amid growing turmoil in global markets and plunging inflation expectations.

A gauge of 10-year inflation expectations in the U.S. government bond market fell to the lowest level since 2009. Fed officials have said they intend to pursue policies that will enable inflation to rise to its 2% target in the medium term...

Obama Administration Drives Syrians Right Into the Arms of Islamic State

From Ambassador Frederic Hof, at Foreign Policy, "America’s Self-Inflicted Wound in Syria":

On Aug. 16, Syrian regime aircraft bombed a vegetable market in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, slaughtering over 100 Syrian civilians and wounding some 300 more. Many of the victims were children; it was one of the deadliest airstrikes of a brutal war. This is far from the first regime-committed atrocity in a Damascus suburb: Exactly two years ago today, Bashar al-Assad’s forces launched a chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, which killed hundreds. In the case of the Douma attack, President Barack Obama’s administration reacted with its usual pantomime of outrage: strong verbal condemnation, condolences for the families of victims, and a plea that the international community “do more to enable a genuine political transition in Syria.”

A genuine political transition in Syria, however, is not right around the corner. Yet every airstrike by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is fueling radicalization in the Syrian here and now. The only clear winner in the Douma abomination was the pseudo “caliph” of the so-called Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a hardened criminal who recruits followers courtesy of the Iranian-sponsored Assad regime’s atrocities and Western complacency. Iran and Assad know exactly what they are doing by bolstering this evil. The West, meanwhile, is complacently unresponsive.

Every barrel bomb dropped on defenseless civilians by regime helicopters is a recruiting gift to Baghdadi, the head of a vicious criminal enterprise that combines the worst aspects of al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Baathism. Every Syrian child killed by barrel bombs or starved to death by regime sieges convinces others that if the “international community” can muster nothing but words, perhaps the self-styled caliph can offer protection. Eager to help rid its Syrian client of credible, nationalistic opponents, Iran consciously supports a program of mass murder that only gives Baghdadi power in Syria and in the Sunni Muslim world at large.

For Obama, who has said that his goal is to “degrade and ultimately destroy” an organization known variously as the Islamic State, ISIL, ISIS, and Daesh, Assad’s atrocities ought to provoke a reaction that extends beyond the same tired rhetoric. They do not. This is because Iran — the object of the administration’s courtship — is fully enabling the mass homicide strategy of its Syrian client.

In its single-minded pursuit of a nuclear agreement with Iran, the Obama administration adopted a Syria policy rich in rhetoric and empty of substantive action. Until June 2014, when the Islamic State used its bases in Syria to overrun much of Iraq, the administration could use the indifference of the U.S. and European publics to Syria’s agony to duck the fact that Assad had continuously undermined the White House’s credibility — ignoring the president’s loose talk about how Assad had lost legitimacy and the chemical “red lines” that ought not be crossed.

Getting a legacy-boosting nuclear deal with Iran was everything for the Obama administration. Nothing should be done in Syria that would offend Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ support for Assad’s mass murder strategy. Offending them — or so the theory went — might cause Iran to walk away from the nuclear talks and forsake a monetary cornucopia in sanctions relief and foreign direct investment.

Public indifference toward Syria’s hellish humanitarian crisis still prevails. But by committing the United States to a war against the Islamic State, the administration found its task complicated by the fact that Assad’s atrocities and his lack of legitimacy had created the very vacuum in eastern Syria filled by Baghdadi and his followers. From the beginning of the uprising, Assad had proclaimed himself a bulwark against terrorists: Yet even as his forces gunned down peaceful demonstrators, he ejected extremists from regime prisons, seeking to inject them directly into the bloodstream of the revolution. The Islamic State became the Assad regime’s enemy of choice; an adversary that would supplement regime attacks on nationalist rebels, only engaging regime forces in combat when they sat atop something they wanted, such as an oil field, a military base replete with weapons stockpiles, or a town filled with priceless antiquities...

Keep reading.

Hat Tip: Israel Matzav.

France Bestows Legion d'Honneur on Amsterdam-Paris Train Shooting Heroes (VIDEO)

These guys are awesome.

At the New York Times, "Americans and Briton Who Thwarted Train Attack Receive Top French Honor":

PARIS — President François Hollande of France on Monday awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, to three Americans and a Briton for their role in stopping a gunman on a high-speed train traveling to Paris from Amsterdam on Friday.

The three Americans — airman First Class Spencer Stone, 23; Alek Skarlatos, 22, a specialist in the Oregon National Guard; and their friend Anthony Sadler, 23, — received the honor in the gilded halls of the Élysée Palace, where they were joined by Chris Norman, 62, a British consultant.

“One need only know that Ayoub El Khazzani was in possession of 300 rounds of ammunition and firearms to understand what we narrowly avoided, a tragedy, a massacre,” Mr. Hollande said at the ceremony, referring to the suspect in the attack, a Moroccan who is in police custody and denies that he had planned to stage a terrorist attack.

“Your heroism must be an example for many and a source of inspiration,” Mr. Hollande added. “Faced with the evil of terrorism, there is a good, that of humanity. You are the incarnation of that.”

After his speech, Mr. Hollande pinned the Legion of Honor medal on the three Americans, who wore khaki slacks and polo shirts, bringing a casual touch to the ornate ceremony. Airman Stone, whose thumb was severely cut by the gunman, still had his left arm in a sling as well as a bruised eye.

The three friends were on a tour of Europe that included stops in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. They had originally intended to spend Friday night in Amsterdam but changed their minds and boarded a high-speed Thalys train to Paris. Shortly after the train crossed the Belgian border into France, they heard a shot, saw a gunman with an AK-47 and rushed to stop him.

A French citizen who was the first to tackle Mr. Khazzani but who has declined to be identified will receive the honor at a later date, as will Mark Moogalian, 51, a passenger with dual French and American citizenship who struggled with the attacker and is recovering from a bullet wound.

The courageous responses to the presence of a gunman drew attention and praise from around the world, especially in France, where many quickly encouraged Mr. Hollande to award the men the Legion of Honor, which was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to reward “outstanding merit.” Several senior officials, including Prime Minister Manuel Valls and the head of the French rail company, attended the ceremony on Monday.

PREVIOUSLY: "2 of 3 Heroes Who Stopped Terrorist Attack on Amsterdam-Paris Train Hail from California (VIDEO)."

U.S. Federal Reserve Dithers on Rate Hike as Markets Throw Tantrum

At IBD, "Fed Dithers On Hike As Emerging Markets Throw Tantrum":

The global market sell-off intensified Friday as investors digested the growing disparity between economies poised for expansion and those at the mercy of global headwinds.

Turbulence is accelerating as the Federal Reserve steels itself for its first interest-rate hike in nearly a decade.

Emerging markets are taking the brunt of the sell-off, partly in anticipation of Fed "liftoff," but commodities and debt from oil-dependent countries have also been hit hard. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (ARCA:EEM) tumbled to a six-year low Friday. The Shanghai Composite sank 4.4% after a Chinese manufacturing index hit a 77-month low....

As the turbulence accelerates, it raises a critical question: How can the Fed pull the trigger in such an unsettled environment?

Central bank policymakers were asking the same question at their July meeting, minutes released Wednesday revealed.

"Some participants also discussed the risk that a possible divergence in interest rates in the United States and abroad might lead to further appreciation of the dollar, extending the downward pressure on commodity prices and the weakness in net exports," the minutes noted.

Back in May 2013, a suggestion from then-Chairman Ben Bernanke that the Fed would begin to taper its bond-buying program roiled emerging markets. Amid this "taper tantrum," policymakers delayed the start of winding down quantitative easing that September. The Fed finally pulled the trigger on the taper in January 2014.

The Fed in July clung to its assertion that it would be ready to hike at any meeting when economic data offered a critical mass of evidence for higher rates. The minutes repeated policymakers' belief that inflation would get back to their 2% target "as the labor market improved further and the transitory effects of earlier declines in energy and import prices dissipated."

Note that this report came out Friday. This morning's news makes things that much more urgent. See, "How the Market Rout Is Turning Wall Street Upside Down."

How the Market Rout Is Turning Wall Street Upside Down

Investors are flocking to U.S. Treasury securities.

At the Wall Street Journal:

The winners and losers on Wall Street are being upended.

After stock investors suffered a sharp decline last week and investors flocked to the relative safety of U.S. Treasurys, bonds are once again getting the upper hand, defying market sages who predicted tough times ahead in the vast debt market due to the prospect of rising interest rates.

U.S. Treasurys maturing in at least a decade have handed investors a total return of 3.2% this month through Friday, according to data from Barclays PLC. The S&P 500 lost 6.1% in the same period. Total return includes price gains and interest or dividend payments. Year-to-date, long-term Treasurys have returned 1.8% compared with negative 3% for the S&P 500. The last time bonds outperformed stocks over a full year was 2011.

The moves come as many investors rip up their playbooks for what might work for the rest of 2015. Fresh jitters about the global economy are giving U.S. government bonds an unexpected boost, once again wrong-footing investors who were convinced the three-decade-long rally in Treasurys was over. Gold and European bonds are also benefiting, while emerging markets and commodities bear the brunt of the selloff.

The scramble for the safety of Treasurys—amid broader financial-market turmoil spurred by worries about the slowdown in China—has sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year note back toward 2%, its lowest since April. Many traders and investors say it is likely to pierce that level if concerns persist.

The yield on the 10-year note dipped below 2% during early trading Monday in Asia as the region’s stock markets sold off broadly.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average entered a correction, roughly defined as a drop of 10% from a recent peak, capping a tumultuous week in which global stock markets slumped and many emerging-market currencies hit record lows against the dollar. U.S. crude oil dipped below $40 a barrel for the first time since 2009, reviving worries about low inflation. The broad selloff in risk assets followed China’s decision to devalue its currency, triggering the yuan’s biggest fall in two decades.

Still more.

And from a few minutes ago, "Markets Rout Continues; China Shares Fall 8.5 Percent; Oil Hits New Lows."

Markets Rout Continues; China Shares Fall 8.5 Percent; Oil Hits New Lows

It's going to be a rough week.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Global Stocks Fall Sharply Amid Concerns About the Chinese Economy":

The rout in financial markets intensified Monday, as global stocks and commodities extended last week’s steep declines.

European stocks and U.S. stock futures dived after a sharp selloff in Chinese shares accelerated, wiping out gains for the year. Oil prices continued to drop, while Treasurys gained as investors sought the relative safety of government bonds.

Fears that China’s economy is slowing dramatically have sparked heavy selling around the globe in recent days. Beijing’s unexpected move to devalue its currency two weeks ago raised the alarm that the world’s second-largest economy may be in worse shape than many had thought. Since then, weak economic data have fueled worries that a drop-off in Chinese growth could cause a global slowdown.

The Shanghai Composite sank 8.5%, entering negative territory for 2015, having risen as much as 60% to its June peak. Japan’s Nikkei benchmark tumbled 4.6%.

Investors were further rattled Monday by the lack of fresh steps to stem the selloff over the weekend from Chinese authorities. The Wall Street Journal reported that the central bank was preparing to flood the banking system with liquidity to increase lending, the latest in a series of measures designed to give the flagging economy a boost.

Futures indicated opening declines of more than 3% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. The Dow entered a correction on Friday, falling 10% from its recent peak, following its worst week since 2011. Changes in futures aren’t necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.

The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index all posted their worst one-day percentage declines since 2011 on Friday.

Keep reading.

And here's the report from last Friday, "China’s Devaluation of Yuan Jolts Global Markets: Greece and Its Creditors Agree Terms for a Third Bailout, But Some Details Remain Unresolved."

California's Electric Vehicle Subsidies Slammed as Giveaway to the Rich

But of course.

The green leftist shakedown industry stands to gain from this giveaway, not minorities and the poor.

At the Los Angeles Times, "State's electric vehicle program blasted as a giveaway to the rich":

Hundreds of Californians with household incomes of $500,000 or more have collected state subsidies for buying electric and hybrid cars under a program that is criticized as a taxpayer handout to the wealthy.

State regulators, in response, plan to restrict the subsidies to Californians who earn less than $250,000 or couples taking in less than $500,000. But that standard is also under fire from some lawmakers and anti-tax activists, who ask why subsidies worth up to $5,000 are given to people who can already afford the cars.

"The state should not be diverting … taxes on low-income and middle-class families to benefit wealthy drivers," said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of San Dimas.

Money for the subsidies comes from a surcharge on vehicle registration fees and a portion of the smog fee paid by California motorists. There were no income limits for the subsidy when the program was enacted in 2010.

The average household income in California is just over $60,000, noted Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. Subsidies for residents who make $250,000, he said, amount to "welfare for the rich" and "a slap in the face to average Californians."

"Clean" cars typically cost more than those that run on gasoline. State authorities say they are trying to find the right balance between providing an incentive for the growth of the electric car industry and helping low- and moderate-income drivers buy the vehicles.

"Our policy objective here is to rapidly increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles in the state," said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the state's Clean Vehicle Rebate Program.

Since its start, the program has provided $242 million in rebates to 114,702 people who bought or leased electric or hybrid cars.

Data from the Center for Sustainable Energy, which runs the program on behalf of the Air Resources Board, shows that 7,056 people who live in economically disadvantaged census tracts have received a subsidy. Combined, they collected $14.8 million, less than 6% of the total disbursed.

A survey of 15,432 rebate recipients who were willing to report their income ranges, also conducted by the center, found that 959, or 6% of those Californians, had household incomes of $500,000 or more. About 28% made between $200,000 and $499,000, and 43% earned $100,000 to $199,999.

About 23% reported an income of $99,000 or less.

About 15% of those surveyed said they bought a Tesla. The price of an entry-level electric Tesla Model S starts at about $75,000 before rebates. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for an electric Nissan Leaf is $29,100 before any rebates.

"There are a good number of people for whom the rebates were not the driver of that purchase," said Michelle Kinman, an advocate for Environment California, part of a coalition that supports the program to help people who cannot afford a clean vehicle. "They would have made the purchase without the rebates."

Last year, state Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), now the state Senate leader, had legislation signed into law by the governor that directs the state to put 1 million low- and zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2023.

It also directed the Air Resources Board to set eligibility caps based on income and to provide higher subsidies for low- and moderate-income communities and consumers.

The board recently agreed to increase the size of subsidies available to low-income residents, but the money must still be approved by the Legislature and is not expected to take effect for four to six months...

Still more.

Blue Jays Rout #Angels 12-5, Sweep Series

Following-up, "#Angels Fall Out of Contention in American League West."

So, the Angels got off to an exiting start on Sunday, scoring 5 runs on the bottom of the first, and looking like their pre-All Star game selves. But it wasn't to be.

At LAT, "Angels' promising start fades quickly in Toronto rout":

After Sunday's 12-5 shellacking administered by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels did not open their clubhouse for about 30 minutes after the final out, an unusually long delay.

Before anyone went in or out, there were problems to work through.

"We talked about a couple things," Manager Mike Scioscia said.

There was a lot to talk about. Sunday was the Angels' fourth loss in a row, a stretch in which they've been outscored 44-12. Even for the high-octane Blue Jays, the weekend was unprecedented: Never before has Toronto scored 36 runs in a three-game series.

In the field, the Angels committed two more errors, making six on the series. The offense finally asserted itself, then shrunk back over the final 25 outs. For good measure, there was a base-running gaffe.

The Angels have slid to third place in the American League West, 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros, and 1 1/2 behind the Texas Rangers in the wild card.

Facing that, the team held its closed-door post-mortem. But the problem, said Scioscia, is not one of work ethic or confidence.

"I'm not going to comment on what was said and what we're trying to accomplish," Scioscia said. "But there's no doubt that the confidence that this team has, has to show up on the field."

"The leadership in there is fine," Scioscia added.

Afterward, at his locker, first baseman Albert Pujols declined to speak about the meeting.

"That's not your guys' business," he said.

He declined to speak about any building frustration.

"Frustration? Why?" he said. "It's a tough weekend. Now you're going to put words in my mouth? I'm done talking."

Little could be said that the Angels' play didn't say already. Sunday's start did actually inspire hope. In their first trip through the lineup, the Angels batted 1.000. They tagged knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for five runs in the first inning, powered in part by a run-scoring single from C.J. Cron, a run-scoring double from Caleb Cowart and a run-scoring triple from Mike Trout. They led 5-1.

The Blue Jays would lead by the third inning.

Right-hander Garrett Richards gave up runs in the first four innings. For the first three, the Blue Jays mostly singled him into submission, but in the fourth, Jose Bautista blasted a home run so far that Richards already had the next baseball and had returned to the rubber by the time it landed, some 440 feet away...

More at that top link.

Migrants Mass at Serbia-Macedonia Border

They're moving through Greece to Macedonia, pretty much with the green light from Greek officials.

Remember, the first-contact nation is responsible for refugees under EU rules, so if initial receiving states let refugees pass through with a wink, then migrants will move on to next door neighbors and start a border crisis there. This is why some consider the migrant crisis an existential threat. No nation has an unlimited ability to continue to accept outsiders.

Rinse and repeat.

At the Wall Street Journal:

Thousands of migrants gathered at the border between Macedonia and Serbia on Sunday, after Macedonian officials allowed them the day before to cross into their territory following days of high tension and clashes.

The move is likely to add to the pressure on Serbia and Hungary, two main transit countries for Middle Eastern and African migrants attempting to reach Northern Europe.

During the night, about 40 private buses ferried the migrants from the train station in Gevgelija, near the country’s southern border, to Tabanovce, at Macedonia’s frontier with Serbia. In normal driving conditions it takes around two hours to cover the distance.

Authorities had also set up at least two trains to cross the country. In recent days, at the Gevgelija station, taxi drivers were available to take people north for about €100 ($114), according to migrants interviewed there.

In letting the migrants enter relatively freely, Macedonia reversed an earlier decision to effectively seal the border with Greece, leaving thousands stuck on the Greek side in difficult conditions.

Tensions rose so high that police used stun grenades, batons and tear gas to control the crowds late last week. Authorities then tried Saturday to regulate the flow, but were quickly overwhelmed and decided to open the border, allowing as many as 2,000 people to cross.

“On Saturday the migrants [at the southern border] managed to put so much pressure that they got in,” said Ivo Kotevski, spokesman for the Macedonian Interior Ministry. “But we aren’t letting everybody in, and we won’t.”

Indeed, Macedonian authorities again tried to regulate the flows on Sunday, allowing only about 50 people at a time to cross. More than 1,000 migrants have crossed the border so far, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The flow of migrants toward Macedonia’s southern border is likely to continue, the Macedonian government and aid groups said. The number of migrants, mainly fleeing war and persecution in Syria and Iraq and entering Greece from Turkey, has shot up in recent months, making the country the main entry point into the European Union.

Nearly 142,000 seaborne migrants have arrived in Greece since June 1, according to the International Organization for Migration.

According to the U.N., some 124,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Greece by sea between January and July this year, a 750% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority aims to cross the so-called Balkan corridor—an area stretching from Greece to Hungary—to reach Northern Europe.

“We are trying to let the people in according to our capacity,” said Mr. Kotevski, the government spokesman. “But I am very worried because the migrants’ pressure from the Greek border will continue to be high.” Aid groups expect thousands of seaborne migrants to arrive at the southern Macedonian border in the coming days...

More.

Sunday Conversation with Emily Ratajkowski

At the Los Angeles Times:

Sunday Conversation: Emily Ratajkowski making model-turned-actress flip work http://t.co/prZkClUK3p pic.twitter.com/VQujiBDyQh

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 22, 2015

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Rose Bertram Reveals How to Take the Perfect Selfie (VIDEO)

Very sweet.

Satanic Temple Worshipers Drown Planned Parenthood Protesters in 'Mothers' Milk' (VIDEO)

At first I thought they were really pouring milk on protesters, as we had nationwide protests against Planned Parenthood yesterday.

But this is a "theater" protest, where devil worshipers dressed in white pretended to be protesting Planned Parenthood, while the Satanic Temple ghouls poured milk on them, supposedly representing mothers' milk.

Pretty sick, either way. One signs reads "America is not a theocracy. End forced motherhood."

At the Washington Examiner, "Satan worshipers drown women with milk in Planned Parenthood counter-protest."

And here's the video, "The Satanic Temple - Political Theatre Against Pro-Life Day of Protest." (Be sure read the comments.)

More at Texas Pro-Life, "Planned Parenthood had their own supporters at ‪#‎ProtestPP‬ rallies today. Satan Worshipers."

U.C. Irvine Freshman Start Year with Mandatory 'Yes Means Yes' Indoctrination (Orientation) Seminars

It's going to be an interesting year in California, as the state's new campus rape law goes into full effect.

I blogged on the national controversy back in April, "The Obama Administration Sows Injustice in Campus Rape Cases."

And now here's the local angle, at the O.C. Register, "For Class of 2019, sex comes with a syllabus":

Today's front pg:Colleges teach "affirmative consent"; a state ablaze; as income gap increases,can we learn to share? pic.twitter.com/ByCUHbDVft

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) August 23, 2015

IRVINE – The list of potential hazards began with earthquakes. Then fires, pandemics and gunmen on the loose.

But the hundreds of UC Irvine freshmen attending their orientation session grew most attentive when it came to a more likely peril of modern college life: sex.

“What is consent?” asked an actor in the educational video that played on a student center screen.

The other actors in the film, all UCI students, responded:

“It’s talking about what you like.”

“Consent is knowing your partner wants you as much as you want them.”

The actors described how to ask for consent:

“Is this OK?”

“What would you like me to do to you?”

“Do you want to have sex?”

Summer orientation is more explicit these days, for a reason. A number of high-profile cases cast a spotlight on the issue of sexual assault on campus, forcing colleges and universities to rethink not only how they handle such accusations but what they are doing to prevent them.

California last fall became the first state to pass a law requiring colleges to adopt sexual assault policies that include “affirmative consent.” Under the law, consent is defined as an “affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.”

So the absence of a “no” isn’t enough. The student initiating sex must get a “yes” from the other person. Being silent or unconscious doesn’t mean yes. Consent can be revoked at any point. Students can’t give consent if they are intoxicated. And if the accused is intoxicated, that’s not an excuse for failing to get consent, the law says...

Still more.

RELATED: See Ashe Schow, at the Washinton Examiner, "5 problems with California's 'affirmative consent' bill."

Kelly Brook in Talks to Play Pamela Anderson's Character C.J. Parker in 'Baywatch' Movie

Sweet.

At London's Daily Mail, "'She has an almost identical body': Kelly Brook 'in talks to play Pamela Anderson's character C.J. Parker in Baywatch movie'."

Hillary Clinton Donors Ready to Jump Ship If Joe Biden Enters the Race

Following-up from yesterday, "Joe Biden Stalks Hillary Clinton in Presidential Race."

CBS News Correspondent Julianna Goldman has the analysis, on Face the Nation:

The Labour Party is a Democratic Socialist Party

Indeed.

And Labour's the pro-jihad party of anti-Semitic, anti-Israel eliminationist ideology.

See Louise Mensch, "Corbyn: Hard For Syrians to Choose Between ISIS and USA."

For a democratic socialist party #Vote4Corbyn #JezWeCan pic.twitter.com/XzFvuylftI

— Tajinder (@JaM99percent) August 23, 2015

#Angels Fall Out of Contention in American League West

Well, I'm calling it: Unless the Angels turn things around right now, starting today, and throughout this week, they're done. They're 4 1/2 games out of first place, behind the Houston Astros, and they're three games back in the wild card race. It's dire and depressing, consider how the Angels were the best in baseball before the All-Star break.

The Toronto Blue Jays destroyed the Halos last night in a 15-3 killer rout at Anaheim Stadium. If it'd been a boxing match the ref would have stopped the fight, so says Kevin Baxter at the Los Angeles Times, "Angels' awful August gets no better":

With the Houston Astros threatening to turn the American League West race into a rout, this is probably as good a time as any to assess the Angels’ situation.

Spoiler alert: It’s not a good one.

After Saturday’s 15-3 shellacking by the Toronto Blue Jays, the defending division champions trail Houston by 4 1/2 games, their biggest deficit since July 3. And with Texas beating Detroit earlier in the day, the Angels aren’t even in position to claim a wild-card playoff berth since the Rangers have passed them in both the division standings and in the battle for the second and final consolation invitation to the postseason.

And that left fuses a little short in the Angels dugout. After giving up two hits in a scoreless -- and largely meaningless -- ninth inning, reliever Huston Street lit his, screaming at everything and everyone in the Angel dugout.

“I hate losing. I hate losing like this,” Street said after regaining his composure. ”Sometimes you just have to get in people’s . . . .

“This is frustrating. There needs to be a sense of urgency. Guys need to feel that. And I wanted people to at least hear or feel it. Because it’s time.”

That’s what one brutal month can do to your season -- and your closer’s temper. On July 23, the Angels woke up with a two-game division lead and a record that was 14 games over .500.

On Sunday they woke up in third place for the first time since June, tied for the fewest wins in the league this month and fading faster than Chris Christie’s presidential hopes.

“I’ll be concerned when we’re eliminated,” Street said. “That doesn’t change the fact that you get mad. We’re better than what we’re playing. We’re making silly mistakes, silly errors, silly decisions with the baseball.

“We’re a better baseball team than this. You have to hate to lose. It’s sickening really.”

Saturday’s game was a good CliffsNotes version of how things have gone lately for the Angels, who have endured three separate three-game losing streaks in August.

On the mound, they had rookie left-hander Andrew Heaney, arguably their best starter since the All-Star break. He lasted just 3 1/3 innings, the shortest start of his Angel career.

On one pitch in the third inning to Josh Donaldson, Heaney gave up more runs -- three -- than he had surrendered in nine of his previous 10 starts. And by the time he left the game one out into Toronto’s seven-run fourth inning, he had been tagged for a career-worst eight runs.

That helped the Blue Jays take a 10-0 lead before the Angels had their second hit. Toronto would go on to set season highs for runs and hits (20). If the game had been a title fight, the referee would have stopped it. Not only have Angels been defenseless lately, giving up 32 runs in their last three games, but they’ve been punchless this month as well: Their .213/.272/.344 slashline is the worst in baseball in August.

Manager Mike Scioscia tried to shake the team from its lethargy by shaking up his batting order, moving Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols up one place each and batting David Murphy (seven home runs, 34 runs batted in) cleanup.

But Scioscia admitted it would take more than that to turn around the team.

“We need to just take this one step at a time and get simple with a lot of the things we’re doing. And hopefully get back into our game,” he said.

Keep reading.

Donald Trump's Staying Power

Well, yeah.

Women say he's amazing, and all that.

So, what do you expect when it comes to politics.

At the New York Times, "As Polls and Fans Speak, Trump Shows Staying Power":

In the command centers of Republican presidential campaigns, aides have drawn comfort from the belief that Donald J. Trump’s dominance in the polls is a political summer fling, like Herman Cain in 2011 — an unsustainable boomlet dependent on megawatt celebrity, narrow appeal and unreliable surveys of Americans with a spotty record of actually voting in primaries.

A growing body of evidence suggests that may be wishful thinking.

A review of public polling, extensive interviews with a host of his supporters in two states and a new private survey that tracks voting records all point to the conclusion that Mr. Trump has built a broad, demographically and ideologically diverse coalition, constructed around personality, not substance, that bridges demographic and political divides. In doing so, he has effectively insulated himself from the consequences of startling statements that might instantly doom rival candidates.

In poll after poll of Republicans, Mr. Trump leads among women, despite having used terms like “fat pigs” and “disgusting animals” to denigrate some of them. He leads among evangelical Christians, despite saying he had never had a reason to ask God for forgiveness. He leads among moderates and college-educated voters, despite a populist and anti-immigrant message thought to resonate most with conservatives and less-affluent voters. He leads among the most frequent, likely voters, even though his appeal is greatest among those with little history of voting.

The unusual character of Mr. Trump’s coalition by no means guarantees his campaign will survive until next year’s primaries, let alone beyond. The diversity of his coalition could even be its undoing, if his previous support for liberal policies and donations to Democrats, for example, undermine his support among conservatives. And in the end, the polling suggests, Mr. Trump will run into a wall: Most Republicans do not support his candidacy and seem unlikely ever to do so. Even now, more say they definitely would not vote for him than say they support him.

But the breadth of Mr. Trump’s coalition is surprising at a time of religious, ideological and geographic divisions in the Republican Party. It suggests he has the potential to outdo the flash-in-the-pan candidacies that roiled the last few Republican nominating contests. And it hints at the problem facing his competitors and the growing pressure on them to confront him, as several, like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, are starting to do.

His support is not tethered to a single issue or sentiment: immigration, economic anxiety or an anti-establishment mood. Those factors may have created conditions for his candidacy to thrive, but his personality, celebrity and boldness, not merely his populism and policy stances, have let him take advantage of them.

Tellingly, when asked to explain support for Mr. Trump in their own words, voters of varying backgrounds used much the same language, calling him “ballsy” and saying they admired that he “tells it like it is” and relished how he “isn’t politically correct.”

Trumpism, the data and interviews suggest, is an attitude, not an ideology.

For voters like Jan Mannarino, a 65-year-old retired teacher who drove an hour from her home in Green Oak Township, Mich., to see Mr. Trump this month, his defiance of political norms is his single greatest virtue.

“Even if he doesn’t win, he’s teaching other politicians to stop being politicians,” Ms. Mannarino said. “He comes on strong. He could say it gently. But I think no one would listen.”

When people talk about the qualities Mr. Trump would bring to the White House, they describe the raging, merciless executive who fired people for sport on television. Some mention trips to his golf courses, which they admiringly note are impeccably run. A common refrain: “He’s a person who gets things done.”

That he has no experience in government is not a liability, many say, but rather one of the main reasons they want him in Washington.

I've placed the key paragraph above in bold.

For an article on Trump's staying power, I think the Times doubts Trump's staying power. And frankly, all of this speculation doesn't do much good after every single prediction that the latest Trump "gaffe" would cause his numbers to tank. So far nothing is seems to slow down his momentum. And we've still got lots more Republican debates coming up, the first in just about three weeks from now, on September 16th. And that's going to be on CNN, which is ostensibly the "straight" news channel with a lot of credibility among the media political class. Trump's political instincts have been impeccable so far, and I doubt he's anywhere near the end of his political 15 minutes, so to speak. But we'll see. We'll see.

Still more.

Radical Feminism and the 'Equality' Trap

From Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain, "Radical lesbian activist @EllenPage decided that @TedCruz needed a lecture from her about equality and discrimination..."

And ICYMI, "Actress Ellen Page Bushwhacks Ted Cruz at Iowa State Fair (VIDEO)."

Poll: Sixty-Two Percent of Americans Disapprove of Obama's Handling of Islamic State Terrorism

At CNN, "CNN/ORC poll: Obama disapproval up, most say U.S. doing badly":

Washington (CNN)After a brief bump into positive territory, disapproval of President Barack Obama is on the rise amid dismal reviews of his work on several foreign policy issues and a sense that his policies would lead the country in the wrong direction.

According to a new CNN/ORC Poll, Obama's disapproval rating has inched above 50%, with 51% now saying they disapprove of how he's handling the presidency and 47% approving.

That's a negative shift since late-July, when 49% approved and 47% disapproved. Majorities also disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy and foreign affairs, as 52% say the policies Obama has proposed would move the country in the wrong direction.

Assessing Obama's handling of several issues, the President fares worst on his handling of ISIS, the Islamic militant group that controls some areas of Iraq and Syria, with 62% disapproving of how the President is dealing with the group. Nearly as many, 60% say they disapprove of his management of the U.S. relationship with Iran.

On both issues, Obama earns notably higher disapproval ratings among Democrats than he does on other issues: 35% disapprove of his handling of ISIS, 30% Iran. His next highest disapproval rating among Democrats is 23% on his handling of foreign affairs generally.

Amid pessimism that either Obama or the GOP leadership in Congress could move the nation in the right direction, a majority say the country is already headed in the wrong one. Asked how things are going in the country today, 52% say badly, suggesting the negative shift that emerged in a May CNN/ORC poll has continued.

Increasing disapproval toward Obama is largely due to a worsening of already-bad ratings among Republicans. In July, 82% of Republicans disapproved, that rose to 89% in the new poll, while among Democrats and independents, his approval rating has held steady (85% of Democrats approve now, 84% in July, while 42% of independents approved in both polls).

Obama's recently renewed push to close the U.S.-run detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, meets with majority opposition: 53% say the prison should remain open, while 44% think it should be closed with prisoners transferred to other facilities. That's more support for closing the prison now compared with 2010, when 39% said it should be closed, but less than existed as Obama was about to take office in 2009, 51% backed closing the facility in January of that year.

As Republican contenders for the presidency raise the idea of sending ground troops to fight ISIS, the public leans slightly against the idea, with just more than half opposed. Overall, 47% favor sending U.S. ground troops into combat operations against ISIS forces in Iraq or Syria, 51% oppose it. Still, most think it is likely that it will ultimately happen, with 75% saying it is very or somewhat likely that U.S. ground troops will eventually enter combat operations against ISIS, up slightly from 70% saying so in May...

Donald Trump Rallies 30,000 in Alabama (VIDEO)

The Donald gets 30,000 out to a rally, but the New York Times story highlights how he "failed" to fill a stadium. No bias there, nope.

See, "Donald Trump Fails to Fill Alabama Stadium, but Fans’ Zeal Is Undiminished."

And CBS News downgrades the crowd size to 20,000. Watch: "Donald Trump holds strategic rally in Alabama."

Hey, Bernie Sanders rallied 28,000 in Los Angeles, so it's a political war over crowd size, heh.

BONUS: Don't miss Elizabeth Price Foley, at Instapundit, "A TALE OF TWO MEDIA SOURCES: Donald Trump’s last minute decision to change the venue of a political rally in Mobile, Alabama has caused some outlets in the mainstream media to fully reveal their inability to report simple facts without mind-numbing spin."

What People Look Like When People Truly Hear for the First Time (VIDEO)

God works in wonderful ways.

Science too. They're being fitted for cochlear implants. It's wonderful.

The facial expressions, and tears of happiness, are priceless.

At Huffington Post.

Long Beach Man Visits Lifeguards Who Saved His Life (VIDEO)

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "A Long Beach man delivered a personal 'thank you' to lifeguards who recently saved his life as he was jogging on the beach."

At Least 7 Dead as Fighter Jet Crashes Into Highway at Shoreham Airshow Near Brighton (VIDEO)

This is absolutely horrible.

At Telegraph UK, "Dramatic footage shows moment plane crashes into several cars," and "#Shoreham air show crash: Wreckage burns on road in aftermath."

Also, "#Shoreham death toll 'may rise' after plane smashes into wedding limo and three other cars."

And see London's Daily Mail, "Gym instructor and two footballers are named as first victims of airshow jet crash...and police warn death toll of seven likely to rise."


The Dan Tube unedited video is here, "Shoreham Air Show, Sussex - Plane Crash."

UPDATED: "Shoreham Air Crash Death Toll 'Rises to 11'."

Hippo Kills an Impala That's Stuck in Mud

It's a jungle out there.

Or a hard-luck water hole, heh.

Woman Earns Several Job Offers After Handing Out Her Resume on the Street

This is great.

American individualism at work.

At People, "Buffalo Woman Hands Out Résumés on Street, Earns Over a Dozen Offers."

One woman earned several offers after handing her resumé out on the street http://t.co/a7lDMawpNz pic.twitter.com/1D9qX0MyS5

— People magazine (@people) August 23, 2015

'Friends' Scenes Deleted After 9/11 Go Viral

At CNN:

Deals in Clothing, Gym Bags, and Backpacks

At Amazon, Shop Sports & Fitness - Back to School - Adidas Gear.

Plus, don't forget your copy of James McPherson's new book, The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters.

2 of 3 Heroes Who Stopped Terrorist Attack on Amsterdam-Paris Train Hail from California (VIDEO)

Well, all of the Americans are being honored for their heroism, but two of them are from right here in California. Amazing, since this state is so far left-wing it's ridiculous. It's one of those stories that remind that there is still decency in the world, and it's not coming from the political left of the spectrum.

At the Telegraph UK, "France train attack: Americans hailed as heroes, gunman 'had ties to Isil'."

And the local angle at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:



Also, at the Los Angeles Times, "Americans who took down terrorist were childhood pals.

Plus, at People Magazine, "U.S. Airman Spencer Stone's Heroic Actions Aboard Attacked Train Are 'No Surprise' to Hometown Friends."

And it's a good thing these guys were aboard. The train's crew wasn't about to do jack to stop the attempted jihadi attack. At London's Daily Mail, "Crew on Paris-bound train 'barricaded themselves in their staffroom and locked the door as Kalashnikov-wielding terrorist went on the rampage – leaving PASSENGERS to take him down'."

More at the New York Times, "A Shot, a Glimpse of an AK-47, and U.S. Servicemen Pounced on Gunman on Train to France."

Wicked Kid Crushes Ball with Obligatory Bat Flip

You gotta love Twitter.

Here: "Kid crushes ball, pretends to shoot it, then executes flips bat."

Joe Biden Stalks Hillary Clinton in Presidential Race

He's war-gaming a presidential run.

At Politico:

Joe Biden games out presidential run with circle of advisers http://t.co/8c6ivflXmd Hillary's on the rocks. Vultures circling. #OhHillNo

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 23, 2015

Actress Ellen Page Bushwhacks Ted Cruz at Iowa State Fair (VIDEO)

At Twitchy, "Watch actress Ellen Page get schooled while debating Ted Cruz on gay rights in Iowa [video]."

And raw video at CNN, "Actress Ellen Page debates Ted Cruz on LGBT rights." Also, with Fredericka Whitfield, "Actress Ellen Page confronts Ted Cruz over LGBT issues."

More at Power Line, "TED CRUZ DEBATES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WITH LEFT-WING ACTRESS."

Beltway Pundit Norman Ornstein Unhinged Over Possible Donald Trump Win for Republican Nomination

As noted previously, I remember Norman Ornstein doing his political punditry back in the 1990s, if not the 1980s. He's a beltway type to the core. It's just in recent years that he's seemed to come unhinged. Obviously the tea party movement's been just too much to handle.

Previously, "Hacktacular Norman Ornstein Bemoans 'Contemptible' GOP Attempts to Sabotage #ObamaCare."

And here's his 2013 book with congressional scholar Thomas Mann, which should tell you something, It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.

Remember, for leftist beltway barnacles like this, it's always conservatives who're infected with virulent extremism.

In any case, here's Ornstein at the Atlantic, freaking out over Trump's seeming inevitability, "Maybe This Time Really Is Different":

Historical context is a great asset. But is history always an accurate guide? Does past performance always give us the best predictor of future outcomes?

This election season provides a fascinating frame to see if the polarization in politics, from Washington to the states to the public, is no different than what we have seen in the past; if the angry populism evident especially on the right but also to some degree on the left, is no different from the populism that has emerged following every economic setback; if the surge for an insurgent, non-establishment candidate that has always petered out well before the primary process is over will follow the same arc; if the Republican Party will once again flirt with outside-the-box candidates before settling on an establishment figure; if the fact that every major-party convention since 1952 has been over before a ballot is cast will hold true again. Or, perhaps, if this time might be different.

Almost all the commentary from the political-pundit class has insisted that history will repeat itself. That the Trump phenomenon is just like the Herman Cain phenomenon four years ago, or many others before it; that early enthusiasm for a candidate, like the early surge of support for Rudy Giuliani in 2008, is no predictor of long-term success; and that the usual winnowing-out process for candidates will be repeated this time, if on a slightly different timetable, given 17 GOP candidates.

Of course, they may be entirely right. Or not entirely; after all, the stories and commentaries over the past two months saying Trump has peaked, Trumpmania is over, this horrific comment or that is the death knell for Trump, have been embarrassingly wrong. But Trump’s staying power notwithstanding, there are strong reasons to respect history and resist the urge to believe that everything is different now.

Still, I am more skeptical of the usual historical skepticism than I have been in a long time. A part of my skepticism flows from my decades inside the belly of the congressional beast. I have seen the Republican Party go from being a center-right party, with a solid minority of true centrists, to a right-right party, with a dwindling share of center-rightists, to a right-radical party, with no centrists in the House and a handful in the Senate. There is a party center that two decades ago would have been considered the bedrock right, and a new right that is off the old charts. And I have seen a GOP Congress in which the establishment, itself very conservative, has lost the battle to co-opt the Tea Party radicals, and itself has been largely co-opted or, at minimum, cowed by them.

As the congressional party has transformed, so has the activist component of the party outside Washington. In state legislatures, state party apparatuses, and state party platforms, there are regular statements or positions that make the most extreme lawmakers in Washington seem mild.

Egged on by talk radio, cable news, right-wing blogs, and social media, the activist voters who make up the primary and caucus electorates have become angrier and angrier, not just at the Kenyan Socialist president but also at their own leaders. Promised that Obamacare would be repealed, the government would be radically reduced, immigration would be halted, and illegals punished, they see themselves as euchred and scorned by politicians of all stripes, especially on their own side of the aisle.

Of course, this phenomenon is not new in 2015. It was there in 1964, building over decades in which insurgent conservative forces led by Robert Taft were repeatedly thwarted by moderates like Tom Dewey and Wendell Wilkie, until they prevailed behind the banner of Barry Goldwater. It was present in 1976, when insurgent conservative Ronald Reagan almost knocked off Gerald Ford before prevailing in 1980 (and then governing more as a pragmatist than an ideologue). It built to 1994, when Newt Gingrich led a huge class of insurgents to victory in mid-term elections, but then they had to accept pragmatist-establishment leader Bob Dole as their presidential candidate in 1996. And while John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 were establishment figures, each had to veer sharply to the radical right side to win nominations; McCain, facing a possible revolt at his nominating convention if he went with his first choice for running mate, Joe Lieberman, instead bowed to the new right and picked Sarah Palin.

So is anything really different this time? I think so...

Keep reading.

Shark Sighting Closes Two Orange County Beaches

Marine biologists can't explain the increase in shark attacks and sightings near swimmers, although it could be that more people are getting closer to the sharks themselves, rather than the other way around. There's more people swimming in the oceans than ever before, apparently.

At ABC News 10 San Diego, "O.C. Shark Sighting: Lifeguard says shark bumped him on surfboard."

Also, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "Stretch of Beach Reopens Following Shark Sighting in the O.C."

Police Battle Protesters in Beirut as Trash Crisis Deepens

At the Times of Israel, "Bullets fly in downtown Beirut amid large demonstration..."

I guess this has been going on for some times. From earlier, at Ruptly, "Lebanon: Beirut rallies against waste-disposal crisis." And at Euronews, "Rubbish crisis forces residents to wear face masks in Beirut."

Losing Twitter Followers Over Donald Trump?

Well, I don't know if I've lost followers over Trump, although I did notice that this was the time of year when conservatives form their quadrennial circular firing squad.

See Bosch Fawstin:

It's getting bitter out there. My criticism of tRump has resulted in losing around two dozen followers on Twitter this week alone. And now even this staunch post-Garland follower has had it, unfollowing me. But as I've put it, losing followers over someone like tRump is a gain.

On Twitter here:

If you're not losing followers on Twitter, you're not tweeting anything worth tweeting.

— Bosch Fawstin (@BoschFawstin) August 22, 2015

Late Summer Reading with Kirsten Powers: The Silencing — How the Left is Killing Free Speech

Well, summer still has about a month to go, but my summer's winding down. School starts on Monday.

But before those dogs days fade into autumn, don't miss your hot Kirsten Powers late-summer reading.

Here: The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech.

April Rose Wants to Show You Her Instagram

Following-up from last month, "Rev Up Your Engines with April Rose."

Ms. Rose has transitioned over to Playboy's site, and it's good.

Watch: "She loves NASCAR. She's a sports fanatic, and she has her own web-series for Playboy called The April Rose Files. She's April Rose and she wants to show you her Instagram."

Donald Trump: Make America Great. Hillary Clinton: Not So Much

Heh.

At Instapundit, "MY TAKE ON THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN IN A NUTSHELL."

End of Summer Savings

Actually, it's not the end of summer so much as it's the end of my summer, heh.

The semester starts back up on Monday and today I'll be at the College Day program for the new semester.

I'll have more blogging tonight.

Meanwhile, shop Amazon, Shop for Home - Save 20% on Select Dyson Fans.

Also, Shop Amazon - Off to College and Shop Amazon Back to School - Save on Supplies, Learning Toys & More.

BONUS: Dick and Liz Cheney's new book will be in stores on September 1st. Pre-order yours here, Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.

Barack Obama Will Leave His Party in Its Worst Shape Since the Great Depression — Even If Hillary Wins

Serves 'em right, the rat bastards, the lot of 'em.

From longtime political analyst Jeff Greenfield, at Politico, "Democratic Blues" (via Memeorandum):

As historians begin to assess Barack Obama’s record as president, there’s at least one legacy he’ll leave that will indeed be historic—but not in the way he would have hoped. Even as Democrats look favorably ahead to the presidential landscape of 2016, the strength in the Electoral College belies huge losses across much of the country. In fact, no president in modern times has presided over so disastrous a stretch for his party, at almost every level of politics.
Legacies are often tough to measure. If you want to see just how tricky they can be, consider the campaign to get Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill 178 years after he left the White House. Working class hero? How about slave owner and champion of Native American genocide? Or watch how JFK went from beloved martyr to the man whose imperial overreach entrapped us in Vietnam, and then back to the president whose prudence kept the Cuban Missile Crisis from turning into World War III.

Yet when you move from policy to politics, the task is a lot simpler—just measure the clout of the president’s party when he took office and when he left it. By that measure, Obama’s six years have been terrible.

Under Obama, the party started strong. “When Obama was elected in 2008, Democrats were at a high water mark,” says David Axelrod, who served as one of Obama’s top strategists. “Driven by antipathy to George W. Bush and then the Obama wave, Democrats had enjoyed two banner elections in ’06 and ’08. We won dozens of improbable congressional elections in states and districts that normally would tack Republican, and that effect trickled down to other offices. You add to that the fact that we would take office in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and it was apparent, from Day One, that we had nowhere to go but down.”

The first signs of the slowly unfolding debacle that has meant the decimation of the Democratic Party nationally began early—with the special election of Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s empty Senate seat in Massachusetts. That early loss, even though the seat was won back eventually by Elizabeth Warren, presaged the 2010 midterms, which saw the loss of 63 House and six Senate seats. It was disaster that came as no surprise to the White House, but also proved a signal of what was to come.

The party’s record over the past six years has made clear that when Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017 the Democratic Party will have ceded vast sections of the country to Republicans, and will be left with a weak bench of high-level elected officials. It is, in fact, so bleak a record that even if the Democrats hold the White House and retake the Senate in 2016, the party’s wounds will remain deep and enduring, threatening the enactment of anything like a “progressive” agenda across much of the nation and eliminating nearly a decade’s worth of rising stars who might help strengthen the party in elections ahead.

When Obama came into the White House, it seemed like the Democrats had turned a corner generationally; at just 47, he was one of the youngest men to be elected as president. But the party has struggled to build a new generation of leaders around him. Eight years later, when he leaves office in 2017 at 55, he’ll actually be one of the party’s only leaders not eligible for Social Security. Even as the party has recently captured more young voters at the ballot box in presidential elections, its leaders are increasingly of an entirely different generation; most of the party’s leaders will fade from the national scene in the years ahead. Its two leading presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are 67 and 73. The sitting vice president, Joe Biden, is 72. The Democratic House leader, Nancy Pelosi, is 75; House Whip Steny Hoyer is 76 and caucus Chair James Clyburn is 75, as is Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, who will retire next year. It’s a party that will be turning to a new generation of leaders in the coming years—and yet, there are precious few looking around the nation’s state houses, U.S. House or Senate seats...

Heh, the party of old white people. Well, James Clyburn's black, but he's old and decrepit, definitely not the image of a young vigorous political titan. A bunch of hacks and losers, that's what they are. The Depends Gang.

Keep reading.

Nashville Bystanders Stop Black Purse-Snatching Mofo in Moment of Good Samaritan Righteousness (VIDEO)

This is the freakin' best!

At the Nashville Tennessean, "Caught on video: Good Samaritans nab doughnut theft suspect."

And at WZTV FOX 17 Nashville, "Nashville Good Samaritans Conduct Heart-Pounding Citizen's Arrest."



The suspect, Ezell Graham, 31, is a hardened criminal with multiple priors. He cries like a child when he's called out by the woman, his target (I won't call her a victim because she's too freakin' righteous!)

Also on Facebook, "This was the intense scene at a Tiger market here in Tennessee after a suspect robbed a woman and was captured by three men." (Don't miss the comments.)

Dana Loesch Destroys the #BlackLivesMatter Narrative (VIDEO)

This is from Tuesday night on Megyn Kelly's show, with Martha MacCallum sitting in. Dana nails it on the left's sickening racial appropriation hypocrisies and so-called "white supremacy."

Watch: "Black Lives Matter's Shaun King is Rachel Dolezal 3.0 - Dana Loesch."

Plus, from earlier, "#BlackLivesMatter Organizer Shaun King's Racial Appropriation."

Look, let's face it, this Shaun King dude is a terrible liar.

See Gateway Pundit, "FAMILY MEMBERS Confirm #BlackLivesMatter Lead Agitator Is White Dude." And at Twitchy, "Christopher Hayes genuinely horrified that Shaun King ‘forced’ to write essay about his racial identity."

Oh, also, this Shaun King is an awful, horrible person who throws his mom under the bus, claims the white father from birth records is not his real "black" father, and in fact that his mom slept around. Supposedly, "my actual biological father is a light-skinned black man." (At Memeorandum.)

Right. Like we believe you. Just like we believe Rachel Dolezal, who threw her own parents under the bus, claiming she in fact had no actual record of her live birth. I'm gobsmacked at the lengths white people will go to hold onto their black appropriation privilege. God it's literally depraved and indecent. Almost shocking.

Click through at Twitchy for all the details on this motherfucker. I'd spit on him if he came near me. Related commentary at Memeorandum.

Obama Sent Secret Letters to Foreign Governments Promising Sanctions Immunity

From Daniel Greenfield, at FrontPage Magazine:

You can see why Obama and Kerry wanted to wrap up negotiations with Iran as quickly as possible to avoid giving Congress enough time to consider all this information. Every day the Iran deal looks worse and worse.

Remember Obama talking up sanctions snapback? Remember the time he promised that you could keep your doctor? The two have a lot in common, except that, as far as we know, the administration didn't write a whole bunch of letters to foreign governments telling them they were lying about ObamaCare.

But the country's number one traitor did just that on sanctions snapback.

Sens. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) disclosed in the letter to the State Department that U.S. lawmakers have been shown copies of several letters sent by the Obama administration to the Chinese, German, French, and British governments assuring them that companies doing business with Iran will not come under penalty.

The Obama administration is purportedly promising the foreign governments that if Iran violates the parameters of a recently inked nuclear accord, European companies will not be penalized, according to the secret letters.

Congress became aware of these promises during closed-door briefings with the Obama administration and through documents filed by the administration under a law requiring full disclosure of all information pertaining to the accord.

“We therefore request the Administration to publicly release these letters, which are not classified, so that the full extent of the Administration’s non-public assurances to European and Chinese governments can be discussed openly by Congress and analyzed by impartial outside experts,” they write...

Keep reading.

'Black prophetic fire is the hypersensitivity to the suffering of others that generates a righteous indignation that results in the willingness to live and die for freedom...'

That's Cornel West, who's interviewed by George Yancy, at the New York Times, "Cornel West: The Fire of a New Generation":

G.Y.: One of your newest books is entitled “Black Prophetic Fire.” Define what you mean by “black prophetic fire.”

C.W.: Black prophetic fire is the hypersensitivity to the suffering of others that generates a righteous indignation that results in the willingness to live and die for freedom.

I think in many ways we have to begin with the younger generation, the generation of Ferguson, Baltimore, Staten Island and Oakland. There is not just a rekindling, but a re-invigoration taking place among the younger generation that enacts and enables prophetic fire. We’ve been in an ice age. If you go from the 1960s and 1970s — that’s my generation. But there was also an ice age called the neoliberal epoch, an ice age where it was no longer a beautiful thing to be on fire. It was a beautiful thing to have money. It was a beautiful thing to have status. It was a beautiful thing to have public reputation without a whole lot of commitment to social justice, whereas the younger generation is now catching the fire of the generation of the 1960s and 1970s.

Today's younger generation's being hoodwinked by New Left communists.

Keep reading.

West was on the "O'Reilly Factor" last night, and I'll update with the video if I see it. The dude is a trip. He calls himself a "revolutionary Christian" and refers to everyone as "brother this" or "sister that."

Weird.

BONUS: David Horowitz has a chapter on Cornel West and "Cultural Decline" in his 2012 book, Radicals: Portraits of a Destructive Passion.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Sneak Peek (VIDEO)

Here's the new video, "SI Swimsuit Sneak Peek - SI Swimsuit: Take an EXCLUSIVE look at what's to come in the world of SI Swimsuit."

As Investors Circle, Organized Labor Moves Into Digital Media

This is interesting.

At WSJ, "Vice Media’s recent move is part of a broader unionization push at outlets as the industry also seeks investments":

Earlier this month, when writers at Vice Media were emailing about the potential benefits of unionizing, one employee brought up company co-founder Shane Smith’s purchase of a $23 million mansion in Santa Monica, Calif., a house featured in “Beverly Hills Cop” and the HBO show “Entourage.”

“For next time [management] says they can’t afford to give us raises,” the employee wrote, posting a link to an article about the real-estate deal.

Two days later, on Aug. 7, the writers voted to join the Writers Guild of America, East.

The move at Vice is part of a broader unionization push in the digital media world. This summer, the WGA and another union, News Guild-CWA, have also signed up writers at Gawker Media and Salon.com, and say they’re actively trying to make inroads elsewhere.

As online media outlets grow in heft—generating significant revenue and earning eye-popping valuations in investment rounds—their workers are beginning to argue they deserve better compensation and employment protections. Vice, whose edgy brand of online content and TV has caught on with young audiences, is a new-media powerhouse that was valued at $2.5 billion in its last investment round.

But the labor organizing movement is happening at what is arguably the most inopportune moment for the industry, just as it is attracting attention from strategic investors who can inject a huge amount of capital into their fledgling businesses. Big media companies are scouting the space aggressively as they chase young audiences, and while unions won’t necessarily be a hang-up in deals, they won’t be a selling point.

Skeptics say collective bargaining may not make sense for these companies, and could counter some of the advantages they have over traditional newsrooms, such as nimble decision-making, flexible work roles, and, in some cases, a lower wage scale.

“It raises questions about the extent to which a union contract might encumber a company from being able to make rapid decisions,” said Iliya Rybchin, the director of the media and entertainment practice at venture capital firm Highnote Foundry, which isn’t an investor in any of the unionized companies. “With unions you also often have strong delineations about roles, and in young companies you usually want a lot of fluidity.”

Management at all of the new-media companies that have voted to unionize have recognized and accepted the decisions of their workers.

One investor who has been on the board of several digital media companies—none that have unionized—said the collective bargaining movement is a bad idea. “For a fast-changing, dynamic, tech-led industry the last thing you want are barriers to growth,” he said, adding that unions have “been a weight” on traditional newsrooms...

I suspect unionization's a really bad idea. But then, most of these outlets are on the far-left. We'll see.

But keep reading.

Donald Trump Makes the Cover of Time Magazine, Poses with Bald Eagle in Photo Shoot

Hey, this is pretty great.

Remember, the magazine will be on newsstands around the country, from checkout stands to airport kiosks; it's a load of free advertising. And that's not to mention the buzz he'll get for the brazen (and perhaps exploitative) patriotism. I mean the cover doesn't even mention his name. You look at his mug and are told to "Deal with it."

Heh. I like it.

Here's the cover story, "The Donald Has Landed: Deal With It."

Plus, "Behind TIME’s Cover Shoot with Donald Trump and an American Bald Eagle."

"Trump is a walking, talking wake-up call for the GOP and media elite” http://t.co/VlKYMgliSZ pic.twitter.com/dbBubFMPmq

— TIME.com (@TIME) August 21, 2015

The Donald has landed back on the cover of TIME magazine http://t.co/c5vCgYGE6G pic.twitter.com/d6BDweSsaD

— Zap2it (@Zap2it) August 20, 2015

Wind-Whipped 'Hellstorm' Wildfires Kill Three U.S. Forest Service Firefighters in Washington State (VIDEO)

God have mercy.

At the Seattle Times, "Wind-whipped wildfire kills 3 firefighters, injures 4 near Twisp," and "Who they were: The 3 firefighters killed near Twisp."

Labour Leader Candidate Jeremy Corbyn Compared U.S. Troops to Islamic State on Vladimir Putin's Propaganda Mouthpiece 'Russia Today' in 2014 (VIDEO)

Oh boy, this is going to inflame some passions.

See Louis Mensch on Twitter (for example, here and here).

And at Britain's Channel 4, "Jeremy Corbyn appears to equate Isis and US military actions":

In an appearance on a Russian-owned news channel in 2014, the Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn compared the actions of US forces during the Iraq war to those of Islamic State militants.

U.S. Officials Reportedly Probing How Classified Data Got on Hillary Clinton's Emails

At Bloomberg, "U.S. Said to Probe How Classified Data Got on Hillary Clinton’s Server":

U.S. law enforcement officials are investigating how classified material found its way into messages that members of Hillary Clinton’s State Department staff sent to her private e-mail address, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the inquiry.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an investigation still in its early stages, said there is some indication that Clinton aides drew upon a variety of messages in classified information systems to produce summaries and updates of events in Libya and elsewhere and then sent them to Clinton or her aides using a private server.

The official didn’t identify the aides.

This transfer of classified information onto a server not approved to handle sensitive material is a focus of the investigation and could form the basis for a criminal probe to determine just how much classified material was sent - and who prepared and sent it.

A spokesman for the State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anybody who knowingly e-mailed classified material to Clinton or her top aides when she was secretary of state could face criminal prosecution, according to current and former U.S. national security officials. Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, isn’t the target of the investigation.

“There’s a responsibility to safeguard classified information,” Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and CIA, said in a phone interview. Failing to protect such data “could get to a level of negligence that criminal penalties would kick in.”

Inspector General

The probe comes after the inspector general for U.S. intelligence agencies determined that four e-mails on Clinton’s server contained classified information at the time they were sent. The State Department and intelligence agencies now are trying to determine if other material in the e-mails was classified when sent, and whether the data should be classified at all.

Clinton and her aides have said material in her e-mails wasn’t marked as being classified at the time it was sent and received through her server. Law enforcement officials, however, are examining e-mails that contained material known to be classified when sent.

Clinton used a private e-mail system in her home in Chappaqua, New York, while she was secretary of state from 2009 until February 2013. E-mails sent and received by her and top aides that used the system were stored on a server. The Federal Bureau of Investigation took possession of the server on Aug. 12 as part of its investigation.

30,490 E-Mails

Clinton said she turned over paper copies of 30,490 e-mails relating to government business from her tenure. Government screeners have flagged 305 of those documents for further review by U.S. intelligence agencies to see if they contained classified material.

There are several scenarios in which known classified material could have been improperly transferred, according to Hayden and an intelligence official who asked to remain anonymous to speak about a current investigation.

The most egregious way would be to knowingly strip classification markings from documents or other data, a move that would clearly be a criminal act.

Another, and possibly more probable, scenario is that those sending e-mails blended data from multiple sources that ultimately included or referenced some classified content.

“What you’re probably talking about is someone typing a message based on multiple sources in their head,” Hayden said.

Still more.

Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Resigns! Snap Elections Called! (VIDEO)

I saw something about new elections in Greece last night, but nothing about the prime ministers resignation.

But it's official.

At WSJ, "Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Resigns, Clearing Way for Elections in Bid to Uphold Bailout Deal":

ATHENS—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned in a bid to trigger snap elections and return to power stronger, plunging his country into weeks of political paralysis just as it seemed to have scraped through a summer of fraught bailout talks and near-bankruptcy.

Mr. Tsipras’s gambit, announced in a short televised address late on Thursday, is expected to lead to his re-election in September, thanks to his popularity and the absence of strong challengers. But whether elections bolster his grip on Parliament, as he hopes, hinges on his ability to persuade Greeks that the €86 billion ($96 billion) bailout he negotiated with Europe is the only path out of the country’s long crisis.

Greece’s head of state, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, was expected to accept Mr. Tsipras’s proposal to hold the vote on Sept. 20.

The election will effectively be a referendum on the 41-year-old Mr. Tsipras and his bailout agreement with the rest of the eurozone.

The deal commits Greece to further years of stringent economic retrenchment, including tax increases and cuts to pension entitlements. Greeks elected Mr. Tsipras and his left-wing Syriza party only in January this year to put an end to five years of unpopular austerity measures, which the country’s creditors demanded in exchange for bailout loans.

Mr. Tsipras’s acceptance in July of creditors’ policy demands followed months of diplomatic confrontation. The standoff ultimately led to Greece defaulting on its debts to the International Monetary Fund and imposing capital controls, further battering Greece’s depressed economy.

The premier’s U-turn has split Syriza. Dozens of his lawmakers have withheld support for legislation needed to clinch the bailout package. Mr. Tsipras has had to rely on the votes of opposition parties, but they have warned they won’t prop him up for long...

More.