Baby Clothing, Gear, and More — 20-to-60% Off

At Amazon, Shop - September Baby Sale.

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

The Third World on the Move — Germany Adds Border Controls to Stem the 'Migrant' Invasion (VIDEO)

John Derbyshire's got a must-read post at VDare, "The Third World Is On The Move. This Will Get WAY Worse Before It Gets Better."

And you know, they're coming to America. Andrea Tantaros tweeted the other day, "Taking Islamic refugees would be suicide. It's an easy way for ISIS to infiltrate US, & where does it end? We have enough immigration probs."

Well, in any case, humanitarian Germany, where the "migrants" were just welcomed with "open arms," has established "temporary" border controls to stem the invasion. At the Telegraph UK, "German border controls mark sudden shift in refugee policy":

Germany announces emergency border protections after weeks of leading Europe's response to the migrant crisis.

Germany’s announcement on Sunday that it was instituting emergency border protections marks a sudden shift in its response to the refugee crisis.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was hailed as a saviour after her government said last month it expected to take in 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers this year alone.

Germany also became the EU first country to suspend the so-called Dublin protocol, which mandates that refugees seek asylum in the first European country they enter, by declaring last month that all Syrian refugees could remain in Germany regardless of the country through which they entered...

Keep reading.

Butte Mountain Fire Continues to Burn Out of Control (VIDEO)

At the Sacramento Bee, "Thousands flee ‘mass destruction’ as Valley, Butte, Rough fires widen," and "Update: California emergency chief says fires ‘spreading faster’ than they have in 30 years."

Plus, watch at KCRA News 3 Sacramento, "Butte Fire keeps destroying homes, disrupting lives," and "Butte Fire proves its unpredictability, burns out of control."

PREVIOUSLY: "Gov. Gerry Brown Declares State of Emergency as Butte Mountain Fire Rages in Northern California (VIDEO)."

Bill Ayers, Unrepentant Weather Underground Terrorist, Endorses Socialist Bernie Sanders for President

Here's the unrepentant terrorist at his blog, "My Friend Bert Garskoff feels the Bern":

Sanders promulgates democratic socialist (not socialist, I think) ideas and programs. It is a good thing that these progressive ideas are injected by Sanders as inoculation for  the otherwise neoliberal dogma of Hilary’s campaign

Certainly among the Sanders supporters there are many who will flock like liberal sheep to Hilary once the Bern burns out. However, I believe that among the Sanders supporters there are thousands who are dissatisfied, who are disgruntled, but who do not have a coherent left analysis, who therefore are open to our ideas as they weren’t before they got involved in the Sanders surge. These seekers will be open (certainly many of them) to ideas from the Left of Sanders

We must think as organizers. Yes, demonstrate, fight in the streets but spend some time and energy going to places where the Sanders campaign has gathered a crowd or a meeting but go not to disrupt, disrupting there would show how true we are to our knowledge, to our anger, to our need to show “them” us. But, what does this do? Doesn’t it drive away people, many of them young people who don’t (yet) have our understandings?

So I think that we should jump in the water. After all, the anti-war multitudes of the 60s and 70s were only disgruntled, dissatisfied people and without a coherent left analysis, yet we jumped in. Why? Because a movement can only be built on motion. Motion is people open, people leaving their normal placid acceptance if only a little, if only briefly. So, things swirled. Liberal anti-war marches. My collective would go, stand alongside the marchers with paper Viet Cong flags and pins, encouraging people to wear the flags. We gave maybe a thousand away. A good left action. We also had leaflets with our analysis of the war on Vietnam. Many people took those. Good. Better than if we had stayed home.

So, why don’t we joined [sic] a Sanders local campaign or go to a mass rally?

Great. Let's put Vietcong pins on Bernie Sanders supporters, or better yet, the Sanders campaign can hand out ISIS flags at campaign rallies.

Still more.

Not only are the Democrats a Marixist collectivist party, hardline left-wing terrorists suck at the teat of the Democrat Party bosom. Bill Ayers was long ago rehabilitated by a terror-loving collectivist media, all too ready to welcome unrepentant fugitives into the Democrat-Media-Complex fold.

This is what's coming in November 2016: a bolder, aggressive leftist socialism, finally prepared to abandon the stealth socialism of the Obama interregnum.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

More at Lonely Con, "Saturday Funnies," and Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: IBD.

Oh My! Donald Trump Surges to 40 Percent in Latest New Hampshire Poll (VIDEO)

From CBS News, via Memeorandum, "Battleground Tracker: Trump leads GOP field in IA, NH, SC."

Also, at YouGov, "Sanders up big in New Hampshire and Iowa; Carson trails Trump." (At Memeorandum.)

Forty percent in New Hampshire is simply astounding. It's still early, but man.



And ICYMI, from last week, "The Political Establishment's Terrified by Donald Trump's 'Tangible American Nationalism'."

Downey Carjacking Suspect Final Video Moments Before Killed by Deputies

Bizarre.

The dude knew he was going out in a hail of gunfire.

What a waste.

But then, these mofo Mexican criminals ought not to be carjacking. Freakin' Democrat Party values.

At ABC News 7 Los Angeles, "CHRIS & PITTS HOSTAGE RECORDED FINAL VIDEO OF ARMED CHASE SUSPECT."

PREVIOUSLY: "Carjacker Shot and Killed by Deputies at Chris & Pitts Restaurant in Downey (VIDEO)."

Besieged Leftist San Francisco Mom Raises Insufferable Eco-Monster Teenager; Lives to Regret It

Look, my 19-year-old son has taken on a lot of far-left positions, and Lord knows he wasn't raised that way. So, imagine the horror of this Jewish progressive San Francisco mom who's raised an eco-monster.

From Darleen Click, at Protein Wisdom, "Mother raises insufferable prick, is confused":

If you can make it through the whole exercise in Ha ha, my kid is off to college and I’m not sorry, isn’t that funny? narcissism, you’ll find the only males mentioned are the 100 lb bully Cory and his best friend.

Where is dad? Or grandpa?

Where was the required influence of an adult man who would have pulled this little asswipe aside and told him to knock-off the totalitarian nonsense or get knocked into next week — “Don’t ever, ever let me catch you treating your mom this way again.”

More at the link, and be sure to click through to the essay by the "besieged San Francisco mom."

I can't stand eco-leftist monsters. I had an insufferable student last semester in my World Politics class. She could have been a satanic antagonist right out of Michael Walsh's The Devil's Pleasure Palace, seriously.

Kristen Keogh's Got Your Beautiful Sunday Beach Weather Forecast

Actually, if you're like me, the weather's back to it's beautiful prime in Southern California.

Still hot, but total beach weather. So, grab your bathing suit and a couple of beers and head out for some recreation. It's going to be a wonderful day.

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Topless Femen Protesters Dragged Off Stage at Islamic Conference in France (VIDEO)

The Femen protesters are pretty psycho, actually.

But you gotta give it up for 'em sometimes, especially when they disrupt the radical Islamists.

At Gateway Pundit, "WATCH=> Muslims Drag, Beat and Kick Topless Femen Protesters Off Stage." (Via Memeorandum.)

And of course, given that these are fucking Muslim goons, they kick the shit out of the Femen women.

I've never seen that in all my Femen posting.

Watch, "Topless FEMEN disrupt Muslim conference in France, get kicked."

Poll: Socialist Bernie Sanders Surges in Iowa and New Hampshire (VIDEO)

At CBS News, via Memeorandum, "Battleground Tracker: Sanders Surges in IA, NH; Clinton up in SC."

The numbers in New Hampshire show an utter blowout, with Sanders up 22 percent over Clinton 52-30. I don't expect a lot of change in the polling, personally. In fact, I expect Clinton to keep struggling, mostly in terms of enthusiasm, but also because of her corruption.

And watch the discussion at Face the Nation, "New CBS Poll: Sanders leading Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire."

Also at YouGov, "The Methodology of the 2016 YouGov/CBS News Battleground Tracker" (at Memeorandum). Again, it's an Internet poll, which aren't my favorite, but haven't been too bad so far, so there's that.

Survivor of Charleston Massacre Tells Lester Holt About the Moment Dylann Roof Opened Fire During Bible Study (VIDEO)

Watch, at NBC News, "Dylann Roof Told Survivor: ‘I’m Going To Leave You Here to Tell the Story’."

But hey, let's wave that Confederate flag in her face!

New Dana Loesch Advertisement for the National Rifle Association (VIDEO)

Here's Dana on Twitter, "As a mom, I want to do #WhateverItTakes to protect myself and my family."



And here's Dana's book, at Amazon, Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America.

Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Europe in 'Day of Action in Solidarity With' Refugees (VIDEO)

At WSJ, "Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Europe in Support of Refugees":

Wave of sympathy contrasts with protest in Warsaw against plan to take in migrants.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Europe rallied on Saturday to express sympathy toward migrants seeking refuge in the region amid the largest migration of displaced people since the end of World War II.

About 30,000 people converged in Copenhagen, according to city police, carrying banners such as “Refugees Welcome.” The rally, as well as smaller gatherings in other Danish cities, was calm and peaceful, police said.

In Hamburg, Germany, more than 24,000 people demonstrated against xenophobia and racism, said a spokeswoman for the city’s police. She said they were mostly peaceful but police briefly used water cannons after some stones and firecrackers were thrown.

Demonstrators also marched in London to pressure the British government to take in more refugees. Among those in attendance was Jeremy Corbyn, just hours after being elected as leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party.

The rallies further highlight the political rift created by the exploding migrant crisis in Europe. The hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge this summer have left Europe divided between nations on transit routes on one side and those countries migrants see as preferred destinations on the other.

The president of Hungary, one such transit route, defended his country’s tough migrant policy on Saturday.

“These migrants don’t come from the war zone, but from camps in Syria’s neighboring countries Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, where they were in safety” and thus didn’t flee for fear of their lives, but for wanting a better life, Viktor Orban told German tabloid Bild in an interview. “Personally, I can understand this, but there is no fundamental right to a better life. There’s only a right to security and human dignity.”

Earlier this month, Hungary’s premier courted controversy by saying the country’s borders must be defended as Europe’s identity was rooted in Christianity, while most of the migrants arriving on the continent were Muslims.

Europe is struggling to handle its largest flow of migrants since the aftermath of World War II. Why is the crisis happening now? The WSJ's Niki Blasina explains.

Mr. Orban’s tough stance drew criticism from Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.

“To put refugees on trains in the belief they would go elsewhere reminds me of the darkest time on our continent,” Mr. Faymann told weekly magazine Der Spiegel in an interview, in a reference to Nazi Germany. Mr. Orban “acts irresponsibly when declaring everyone a migrant for economic reasons. He consciously uses a policy of deterrence,” he said.

In the Polish capital, about 7,000 people led by fringe nationalist groups protested on Saturday against the government’s plan to take in more than 2,200 refugees over the next two years.

“It’s a war of two civilizations,” said one of the Warsaw rally’s leaders...

Still more.

Cooling Off with Amanda Cerny, Gemma Lee Farrell, Bryiana Noelle, Kennedy Summers, and Shelby Chesnes (VIDEO)

Watch: "Playboy Playmates Cooling Off by Taking a Splash."

Illegal Immigrants Lose ObamaCare Coverage

As well they should. At the Hill, "400,000 immigrants lose Obamacare coverage."

Those "400,000 immigrants" are mostly illegal immigrants, who were supposed to resolve their citizenship status within 95 days of the law's window taking effect, but the criminals obviously didn't want to come forward, and thus are being thrown off Obama's illegal alien healthcare dole.

Bar Refaeli for At Magazine

It's an Israeli magazine, published in Hebrew (as far as I can tell).

She's tweeted a shot here, "No make-up No filter No retouch. Just Me out tomorrow atmagazine."

And at Egotastic!, "BAR REFAELI SEXTASTIC IN LINGERIE."

Jeremy Corbyn, Newly-Elected Labour Leader, Sings 'Red Flag' with Supporters in London Pub (VIDEO)

At the Independent UK, "Jeremy Corbyn celebrates election as Labour leader by singing The Red Flag at victory party."

He was "on the brink" of tears.

Tony Blair had the party spurn "The Red Flag" during his time in office, but it's resurrected now, in a big way:

The People's Flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold.
Chorus:
So raise the scarlet standard high.
Beneath its folds we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here.
Look round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy German chants its praise,
In Moscow's vaults its hymns were sung
Chicago swells the surging throng.
(chorus)
It waved above our infant might,
When all ahead seemed dark as night;
It witnessed many a deed and vow,
We must not change its colour now.
(chorus)
It well recalls the triumphs past,
It gives the hope of peace at last;
The banner bright, the symbol plain,
Of human right and human gain.
(chorus)
It suits today the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.
(chorus)
With head uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn.
(chorus)

PREVIOUSLY: "Death of New Labour as Jeremy Corbyn's Socialist Party Begins Period of Civil War Following Crushing Victory."

Techmeme on Its 10th Birthday

A pretty interesting post, from Gabe Rivera, who owns Techmeme, "Ten Years Later, This Is How Techmeme Has Avoided Click-Bait, Auto-Play Ads, and More."

The Return of the Sex Wars

A very interesting piece, from Emily Bazelon, at the New York Times.

I tweeted it to Robert Stacy McCain. He loved it:

@AmPowerBlog Feminists don't really care about preventing rape. Feminists care about demonizing males. @instapundit @CHSommers @AsheSchow

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) September 13, 2015

Emily Ratajkowski Flashes at TargetStyle NYFW Event

At London's Daily Mail, "Emily Ratajkowski flashes her cleavage in a plunging pantsuit with sheer lace trousers as she leads the glamour at TargetStyle NYFW event."

And at Drunken Stepfather, "THE TITS FROM BLURRED LINES DRESSED LIKE A STRIPPER FOR TARGET OF THE DAY."

Democrats Call for Admitting 200,000 Migrants Into the U.S.

And they want at least 100,000 to be Syrian.

See Director Blue, "72 DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS: We Must Allow 130,000 Syrians and ISIS Terrorists Into the U.S."

You know, that's only slight hyperbole about the ISIS terrorists. The FBI has no clue how to screen all of these so-called "refugees." See Twitchy, "FBI still maintains it has no means of vetting 10000 'extensively screened' Syrian refugees."

Amber Lee's Got Your Sunday Forecast

It's cooled down a bit, mercifully so.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Death of New Labour as Jeremy Corbyn's Socialist Party Begins Period of Civil War Following Crushing Victory

Well, I called Corbyn a "Communist," but then you have to make it to socialism on the dialectical path to full communism, so I guess it's a wash.

Here's the dramatic headline at the Telegraph UK's live blog from earlier today, "Death of New Labour as Jeremy Corbyn's socialist party begins a period of civil war."

Unlike Scott Walker, Donald Trump 'Just Gets Right Out There' with His Racism (VIDEO)

Well, at least in Britain you've got a hard-left that's genuinely interesting.

Here in the states we've got leftists who are caricatures of far left-wing caricatures. It's not funny in the least.

At Truth Revolt, "Progressive Editor: 'Subtly Racist' Walker Losing 'Explicitly Racist' Voters To Trump":

"Donald Trump has taken out a bullhorn and said the things that Walker used to say with a dog whistle. I mean you'll notice when you played the clip of his speech, all of these things he bragged about doing in Wisconsin have this subtle racial subtext, and that's no accident. Walker's political rise comes out of the right-wing talk radio sphere right around the suburbs of Milwaukee and there's a lot of very explicit racism there. And that's been a part of his campaign in a low-key way, he's appealed to racism among voters. Donald Trump just gets right out there with it."

All assertions. No facts. But then, this is the postmodern "satanic" left. Truth is light. Leftists love darkness. Hence, they just spew a bunch of evil shit, targets and bystanders be damned.

Watch: "MSNBC Guest: Trump Stole Explicitly Racist Voters From Subtly Racist Scott Walker."

Satan Cast Out of the Hill of Heaven

I'm getting through Michael Walsh's The Devil's Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West.

It's a quite forcefully argued book, rooted in deep literary learning of German Romantic and Early Romantic opera, which is used to embed the "critical theory" of the Frankfurt School in its "satanic" foundations.

Walsh literally takes no prisoners with his analysis, as one of the reviewers indicates at the Amazon page.

I just noticed last night that Walsh has included a bunch of prints of classical artwork to illustrate the book. Below is Gustave Doré's illustration for John Milton's Paradise Lost" -- "Satan is cast out the hill of Heaven and is cast in Hell's canyons."

And Walsh writes at the caption, "The Paradise that has been irrevocably lost is not ours but Satan's. No wonder those who advocate the satanic position fight for it so fiercely." 

Those advocating for "the satanic position" are leftists, as Walsh points out time and time again.

Earlier Michael Walsh blogging is here.

Gov. Gerry Brown Declares State of Emergency as Butte Mountain Fire Rages in Northern California (VIDEO)

At the Amador Ledger, "Governor Brown delcares a State of Emergency in Amador and Calaveras counties," and "CalFire Butte Mountain Fire Update - 6:43 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire."

More at USA Today, "'Explosive' fire forces evacuations in Northern Calif."

Plus, watch at KCRA News 3 Sacramento, "Firefighters making progress in ravaging Butte Fire," and "Devastating Butte Fire rips through Calaveras County homes."

Low Voter Turnout Weakens Latino Political Power

Well, so much for the left's "coalition of the ascendant."

At LAT, "The Latino vote is growing -- but it could be much bigger":

By all accounts, the Central Valley is a place where Latino candidates should win elections.

Latino political activism here dates back to the farmworker movement of the 1960s. In one congressional district that stretches up through the valley from Kern County to Fresno County, nearly 3 out of 4 residents are Latino.

Yet Latino candidates' election losses have piled up here in recent years — in large part because Latinos aren’t turning out to vote.

For all the talk of the growing Latino electorate and the pivotal role it is expected to play in the 2016 presidential race, there is another often overlooked demographic reality: Latinos, along with Asian Americans, remain dramatically underrepresented in most U.S. elections.

Half a century after passage of the Voting Rights Act, which ended legal barriers to voting for blacks across the South, blacks and whites now vote at roughly equal rates, especially in presidential elections. But Latinos and Asians lag far behind in all races, even when noncitizen immigrants are accounted for.

As a result, the U.S. electorate may be less reflective of the nation’s ethnic and racial diversity today than it was in the 1950s, when the country was 90% white, according to political scientist Bernard Fraga of Indiana University, who studies minority voting trends.

In the 2014 midterm election, only 27% of eligible Latinos voted, compared with 46% of whites and 41% of African Americans, according to U.S. census data.

While the Latino vote is big and growing -- 40 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2030, up from about 25 million in 2014 -- it’s nowhere near as big as it could be.

“There’s more Latinos and more eligible Latino voters in the United States than ever before,” Fraga said. “They should have even greater voting strength than they do. They should be even more of a force in politics. But a lot of them aren’t turning out to vote.”

Understanding why Latinos aren’t voting at a higher rate is an urgent question for candidates and parties who depend on Latino votes to win.

Democrats say they will need a big Latino turnout to carry swing states such as Nevada, Colorado and probably Florida in the 2016 presidential race. In next year’s Senate race in California, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) will depend on Latino votes in her race against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

But there are many hurdles to improving turnout.

Keep reading.

Maybe Democrats should get to work mobilizing legal Latinos, instead of opening the floodgates for illegal Mexican murderers and rapists?

Uncovered Samantha Hoopes

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:



Previous Samantha Hoopes blogging here.

Rainbow Over World Trade Center, September 10, 2015

The hand of God.

At USA Today, "Photos: Rainbow appears from World Trade Center on eve of 9/11."

Day before the 14th anniversary of 9/11, a rainbow emerged from 1 World Trade Center Photo:Sturner #NeverForget911 pic.twitter.com/UkwfCKzJjL

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) September 11, 2015

And, of course, karma on September 11, "At least 107 dead in crane collapse in Mecca's Grand Mosque."

Communist Jeremy Corbyn Elected Leader of Britain's Labour Party

Although not unexpected, this is really big new for Britain.

At One America News, "Marx Admirer Corbyn Elected UK Opposition Labour Leader."

Corbyn's indeed a "Marx admirer."

Shoot, he's a freakin' Marxist. See the Express UK, "Labour despair as Corbyn refuses to deny being Marxist."

Well, he was elected in a landslide vote today as the next leader of British Labour. See the Guardian UK, via Memeorandum, "Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership race in stunning victory - live updates," and at the New York Times, "With Jeremy Corbyn Elected as New Leader, Britain's Labour Party Takes a Hard Left Turn."

If you're not already, you should be following Louise Mensch on Twitter, who's the absolutely essential source on all things British politics. She's got a post up at her blog as well, "Corbyn and Why Labour Lose."

And then check this don't-miss essay from Robert Colvile, at Politico, "Quasi-Communist Corbyn":

Now aged 66, Corbyn was first elected to parliament in 1983. That year, Labour stood on a far-left platform promising unilateral nuclear disarmament and the nationalization of swathes of British industry. It was described by one of its own MPs as “the longest suicide note in history.”

Over the next decade, Labour embarked on a gruelling march back toward the center ground. That reached its apogee in 1994, when Tony Blair rebranded the party as “New Labour” and declared it the natural home of the aspiring middle class. His MPs shaved off their beards, stopped singing “The Red Flag,” revoked their symbolic commitment to “the common ownership of the means of production” and promised not to raise taxes. The result was three landslide victories.

A handful of MPs, however, kept both their beards and their beliefs — chief among them Jeremy Corbyn. And where Miliband promised in 2010 to “turn the page” on New Labour, Corbyn wants to go back and tear out the entire chapter.

The result is a policy platform which makes Hillary Clinton look like Grover Norquist. Corbyn would nationalize the railways, most of the energy companies and at least one of the banks. He would abandon austerity, raise taxes on the rich and force the Bank of England to print money to pay for houses, railways and wind farms. He would return schools to state control (undoing Britain’s version of the charter school program, set up under Blair). He would slash defense spending and abolish Britain’s nuclear deterrent. He might bring in a “maximum wage” to cap executive pay, or reopen the coal mines, or withdraw from NATO.

Then there are his views on foreign policy. Corbyn is one of those Europeans who blames the West for the bulk of the world’s evils — and who therefore believes that anyone who hates America or Britain or Israel probably has something going for them. He befriends Venezuela, Bolivia, Russia, Iran, Palestine, Hamas, Hezbollah. He blames the Ukraine crisis on NATO. He befriended Sinn Féin, the IRA’s political wing, even as it was blowing up British civilians. He opposed the Falklands, Kosovo, the first Gulf War and the invasion of Afghanistan — and, of course, Iraq. He was recently asked if there were any circumstances under which he would deploy British troops abroad. “I am sure there are some,” he replied. “But I can’t think of them at the moment.”

What does all this mean for Labour’s future? Some people have argued that Corbyn will need to make some accommodation with his enemies. He has, indeed, spoken of the need for unity and inclusiveness. But at the same time, he is not a man who compromises on his beliefs. His first wife went five years without a date — his evenings were devoted to party meetings or photocopying at headquarters. His second left him because he insisted on sending their son to the (appalling) school allotted to him by the state.

He is also not alone. A central plank of his platform is that the party needs “real democracy” — which means MPs doing what they are told by members, as in the old days. Some of his allies, meanwhile, have talked darkly of the need to de-select MPs who fail to fall into line. His opponents fear that even if Corbyn loses the next election (or is turfed out before then), he will use his control of the party machine to wrench their party irrevocably to the left...

That leadership style, where MPs do "what they are told" by party members, is the "vanguard" party model that Vladimir Lenin deployed as the Bolshevik Party took power in Russia in 1917.

Make no mistake. Corbyn's a communist. He's the real dyed-in-the-wool (red) thing.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

New Scores Show Wider Ethnic Gap in California

These are the new Common Core results, and the gap between Asian and black students is astronomical --- and that's after Asian results declined from the previous testing regime.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Achievement gaps widen for California's black and Latino students."

The Obama White House Won't Say Whether U.S. Is Winning the War Against the Islamic State

Progress in the war on terror, 14 years after the September 11 attacks.

The news isn't encouraging, to say the least.

Watch, at Free Beacon.

RELATED: From Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air, "Fourteen years after 9/11, plenty of readers expressed their unhappiness in our earlier anniversary thread with US policy for the War on Terror, and for good reason."

Europe's Indifference to Syria's Refugees

Well, indifference, and "identity politics."

From Caroline Glick, at the Jerusalem Post:

The war in Syria broke out nearly five years ago.

Hundreds of thousands have already been killed in the conflict. Ten million people – nearly half of Syria’s pre-war population – have been displaced. For the past four years, millions of Syrians have been living in refugee camps in neighboring states – first and foremost in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Most of the refugees now arriving in Europe are coming from these camps, rather than directly from Syria. Rather than help them either resettle in the lands to which they fled, or take action on the ground in Syria to enable them to return to their homes, the Europeans largely ignored them.

Part of the reason Europe has ignored Syria, of course, is indifference. So long as it’s happening “over there,” the Europeans really couldn’t care less.

But indifference alone does not explain how Europe has been taken by surprise by a humanitarian disaster of the magnitude now unfolding at its borders.

Identity politics have played a key role in shaping Europe’s failed Middle East politics – in Syria and throughout the increasingly destabilized Islamic world.

Identity politics distinguish between various groups based on how they fall on a spectrum of “oppression.”

Western nations, led by Europe and the US, are all classified as “oppressors,” due to their “imperialist” past.

The Islamic world writ large is classified as “oppressed.”

All groups that receive “oppressed” status are immune from judgment, much less resistance from those who fall on the side of the “oppressors.”

Given this taxonomy, Europeans along with the sectors of American society that have embraced identity policies are incapable of recognizing, much less taking action against, radical Islamists.

Those who are oppressed by the “oppressed” of the Islamic world – the Yazidis, Christians and Kurds, for instance – can receive no sustained protection from their jihadist oppressors by the “Muslim-oppressing” West.

The immunity identity politics confers on “oppressed” population groups adheres even when those groups themselves engage in oppression...

More.

Hellraiser Jorgie Porter

She's FHM's new cover girl, on Twitter.

And watch, "FHM Sexy Shorts Presents: Raising Hell with Jorgie Porter."

Hungary Prime Minister Warns of 'Far-Reaching Consequences' in EU's Refugee-Sharing Plan (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban Pushes Back Against EU Migrant Sharing Plan":

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday warned the European Union not to impose a plan for sharing migrants across the bloc onto his government, ahead of a key meeting of EU ministers to discuss the issue on Monday.

EU officials have said they hope the bloc will give the proposal, which would see 120,000 asylum seekers distributed among the bloc’s member states, political backing on Monday. Trying to raise the stakes, European Council President Donald Tusk warned he will summon leaders to Brussels later this month if Monday’s meeting fails.

Although Hungary could benefit from the plan, by seeing asylum seekers who have registered in the country moved elsewhere, Mr. Orban warned of “far-reaching consequences” if the EU pushed ahead with the plan on Monday without his backing.

“It’s not possible to make decisions without the elected national leaders,” Mr. Orban said in a news conference in Budapest.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive, put forward its proposals on Wednesday in a bid to stem the biggest migration crisis facing the region since the aftermath of World War II. Under its plan, 54,000 people who have arrived and registered in Hungary, would be sent to other EU countries.

The plan needs approval from a majority of national governments, meaning it cannot be vetoed by Hungary alone. Top EU officials have said if the proposal wins political backing on Monday, it should be formally signed off in October.

Speaking in Cyprus on Friday, Mr. Tusk—who organizes and chairs EU leaders’ meetings—said that if ministers fail to agree on Monday, “I will have to call an emergency meeting of the European Council still in September.”

If the decision is passed on to EU leaders, the plan would need the backing of all heads of government, including Mr. Orban. It would also delay the implementation of the proposal.

For his part, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said his country wouldn't support the EU plan because the priority should be “to gain control over the outer border of the European Union.”

In the first eight months of 2015, Hungary registered 170,000 people who crossed its border illegally on their way from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many have come through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia to Hungary in hopes of reaching more affluent and asylum friendly states in the EU, notably Germany.

Diplomats in Brussels say Hungary also argues that the redistribution plan will end up attracting more migrants to the EU. They note that since many of the asylum seekers arriving in Hungary quickly leave the country, there may be little incentive for Hungary to sign up to the plan.

If Hungary doesn't participate, the diplomats said, Germany has said it would be happy to take Budapest’s quota—meaning people who have arrived in Germany could be moved to other EU countries like France or Belgium. A spokesman for the German interior ministry didn't comment...

Still more.

Carjacker Shot and Killed by Deputies at Chris & Pitts Restaurant in Downey (VIDEO)

This story garnered international coverage, at the Guardian UK, "Police shoot man dead after he takes hostages in Los Angeles restaurant."

Quite dramatic.

And watch, at CBS New 2 Los Angeles, "Carjacking Pursuit Suspect Fatally Shot by Deputies During Hostage Situation in Downey."

9/11 Ceremony in New York City Marks 14th Anniversary of Attacks (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Victims’ families observe moments of silence, read names of lives lost."

And this is beautiful:



More from CBS News 2 New York, "Remembering 9/11."

Hillary Clinton's Disastrous Drop in Public Opinion (VIDEO)

I can't keep up with all the public opinion polls showing Hillary's drastic decline in support.

Here's the New York Times from yesterday, "Hillary Clinton’s Support Erodes in National Poll."

And just this morning, at CNN, "Clinton's lead over Sanders shrinks as her edge over GOP vanishes." (And check the raw internals here.)

Still more, from the new Monmouth University poll, "NATIONAL: CLINTON LEAD SHRINKS: While non-candidate Biden makes gains."

And it keeps coming, at Quinnipiac, "SANDERS 41 TO CLINTON 40 IN IOWA DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS,QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; DEMS SAY SANDERS IS MORE HONEST AND CARING." (And see the write-up at Politico, "Bernie Sanders overtakes Hillary Clinton in Iowa: People close to Clinton's camp have recently been warning that the Vermont senator could win Iowa and New Hampshire.")

And at NBC News, "Sanders leads Clinton by 9 points in NH, gains ground in IA." (And check the raw internals here.)



BONUS: From Chris Cillizza, at WaPo, "It might be time for Hillary Clinton to start panicking."

#BlackLives Matter Calls to Burn U.S. Flags on September 11 — #FYF911 (VIDEO)

#FYF911 is the hashtag for the #BlackLivesMatter September 11 protest, "F*ck Your Flag 9/11."

See Lee Stranahan, at Big Government, "#FukYoFlag Movement Calls For Black Lives Matter Violence On 9/11."

And here's the video shout out for #BlackLivesMatter activists to burn American flags today, the anniversary of the September 11 attacks: "King Noble Reveals the Secret Location of #FYF911."

And from the video's caption:

We, the people, are psychologically and physically breaking free of the imperialist, colonialist, and racist empires by burning representations starting on September 11th 2015. Why September 11th? We recognize that these imperial powers attacked their own citizens on 9/11 in an attempt to gain more power from its people. We are not disrespecting any citizen that may have died during these attacks on this day,instead we are acknowledging that, from this day forward, we are holding ALL imperial nations responsible for their needless deaths! On 9/11 we will be burning American flags, confederate flags, police uniforms, and ALL representations of organized evil and oppressive nations. We also will be raising the Liberation flag and building on a new nation for the people. This is an INTERNATIONAL movement and a day of unity, progressive action, and liberation. To all OPPRESSIVE AND ORGANIZED EVIL after #FYF911 the people will not be bound to you any longer!! F*** YOUR FLAG!!

Hat Tip: Truth Revolt, "Flag Burnings Scheduled on 9/11: Because Black Lives Matter."

Behind the Scenes with Meg Turney (VIDEO)

She's an Internet personality, cosplayer, model, and vlogger.

On Twitter here.

And watch, at Playboy, "Meg Turney's Behind the Scenes with Playboy."

Caroline Kelley Casting Call for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016

She's lovely.

USA Today Calls for Ground Troops in Iraq on Anniversary of September 11 Attacks

They're not mincing words.

From the editors, at USA Today, "ISIL haunts 9/11 anniversary: Our view":

Fourteen years ago, the United States suffered a shockingly successful surprise attack by a little known Islamic extremist group based 7,000 miles away in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Since then, a U.S. invasion chased al-Qaeda out of its haven, and targeted strikes eventually eliminated most of its senior leaders, including Osama bin Laden in 2011. The danger from the group that killed nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, has waned.

Its influence lives on, however, through offshoot extremist groups that have eclipsed al-Qaeda — none more so than the Islamic State, the lightning spread of which through Syria and Iraq has been marked by medieval barbarity, adapted to the Internet age....

ISIL represents the embodiment of evil in the modern world, and it mustn't be allowed to establish a foothold from which to plot attacks against the United States or to inspire so-called lone wolf sympathizers to do so. But the U.S.-led effort to "degrade and ultimately defeat" ISIL has shown underwhelming results....

The administration asks for patience, insisting that with U.S. and allied airstrikes, and with the U.S. and its allies painstakingly rebuilding an effective Iraqi army, the tide will turn. Indeed, some metrics hint at progress; the administration says ISIL's movements have been effectively limited in nearly a third of the areas in Iraq it used to control. The U.S. has assembled a coalition of 62 nations and international organizations to counter ISIL, almost double the 34 nations that rallied behind then-President George H.W. Bush to push Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991.

The struggle against ISIL is likely to be long, one that will be won not just by driving the group out of the territory it claims as its caliphate but also by countering the ideology that has brought the group so many followers despite its depravity. Unless the current approach starts to show better results soon, America should prepare to take more aggressive actions, including the use of Apache helicopter gunships to assist ground fights, and deployment of U.S. forces to act as spotters for airstrikes and to bolster Iraqi units.

If there’s one lesson the nation should have learned from that awful day 14 years ago, it’s that the United States cannot afford to ignore a rabidly anti-American terrorist group that has established a haven in a faraway place.

U.S. forces on the ground, "to bolster Iraqi units."

This should happen. But it probably won't. And that's a shame, particularly on this day, 14 years after the worst attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor.

RTWT at the link.

New 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

At the Washington Post, "A new 9/11 memorial to Flight 93: ‘Our loved ones left a legacy for all of us’."

And watch, at the PBS News Hour, "Once a quiet field in Shanksville, transformed into somber memorial."

Free Community College

Community college isn't free. Someone has to pay for it.

When I first went to Santa Ana College in 1979, I paid just $5.00 for the health fee, plus whatever nominal cost for books.

But, while the cost of college was virtually free to me, the student, it's the taxpayers who finance the education, because it costs a lot of money to pay for all the teachers, bricks and mortar, and all the other expenses. And in fact, I'm not against free community college. If the state promises to provide public education for all who might profit from it, at public expense, then the state should keep its promise. California and other states haven't kept their promise for free community college for decades. But they haven't renounced the promise.

Indeed, President Obama has been campaigning for free community college for some time now, and yesterday the White House released a new report on the initiative, "America’s College Promise: Progress Report on Free Community College."

Long Beach City College is cited at the report:

Long Beach College Promise: Long Beach City College (LBCC), California StateUniversity-Long Beach (CSULB), Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and the City of Long Beach have collaborated to provide a free semester of tuition to all localhigh school graduates, with guaranteed transfer admission to CSULB for those interested in completing a bachelor’s degree program. To date, the program has provided a free semester for more than 7,000 local students. This month the Long Beach College Promise will announce that it will extend the free tuition scholarship to one full academic year at LBCC. The success of the program has become a model for other California schools. In 2013, Cuesta College announced that it would eliminate the first semester of tuition for incoming San Luis Obispo County students.

Plus, lots about this in the news.

At the Washington Post, "Obama on free community colleges: 'This isn't rocket science'."

And at the PBS News Hour, "The free community college experiment everyone is watching."

But see Reason, "Obama's Grandiose Plan Will Give Community College Administrators the Last Laugh at Our Expense," and the Daily Signal, "Five Caveats to Obama’s ‘Free’ Community College Proposal."

Evelyn Taft's Got Your September 11 Forecast

Clear and bright, just like that fateful day 14 years ago.

A few degree cooler than earlier this week as well.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Will Not Seek Reelection (VIDEO)

She's toast.

Probably the worst mayor in America.

She creates safe zones for criminals, not citizens.

At the Baltimore Sun, "Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to announce she won't seek re-election."

Student Charged with Felony Assault After Punching Substitute Teacher at Fresno's Roosevelt High (VIDEO)

It's a black girl.

A freshman apparently.

She's a big kid too, just waling on the substitute, a white man who tries to walk away, but is followed out into the hallway, to be punched some more. The teacher took the student's cellphone away after trying to restore order.

A total nightmare.

I saw this first at the Los Angeles Times, and it's shocking, "Video shows Fresno student punching teacher in cellphone dispute."

And at KSEE News 24 Fresno, "Student arrested for attack on teacher: 15-year-old student at Roosevelt High School faces three criminal charges," and "Roosevelt High School Student Attacks Teacher, Arrested."

That's terrible quality video, unfortunately. (There's a YouTube clip here, "Student punches teacher repeatedly.)

Also at the Fresno Bee, "Roosevelt High student arrested after videos show her punching teacher."

In the Mail: Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes, Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America

Boy, I've had more books shipped this last week or so than I've had in a long time.

I've got a lot of reading to do this weekend!

Here's the new book, in the mail yesterday, and it looks great: Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America.

Obama the Villain in Exceptional

Here's the book, which I hope to start reading as soon as this weekend, Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.

And at the New York Times, "Review: In ‘Exceptional,’ the Cheneys Make Obama the Villain":

Former presidents may keep quiet about those who occupy the White House once they leave, but the code clearly does not extend to vice presidents. Nearly seven years after leaving office, Dick Cheney has produced a book that amounts to a stinging indictment of President Obama as an ineffectual, America-hating, military-destroying, soft-on-terrorism appeaser whose tenure has damaged the country.

It is a case he prosecutes relentlessly. To the witness stand, Mr. Cheney and his daughter and co-author, Liz Cheney, summon the ghosts of presidents past, including Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan, to testify to the greatness of America and what they call the bipartisan postwar tradition of muscular leadership on the world stage.

This is a tradition Mr. Obama has shirked, the writers argue, making him a modern-day Neville Chamberlain. “The damage that Barack Obama has done to our ability to defend ourselves is appalling,” they write in “Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.” “It is without historical precedent. He has set us on a path of decline so steep that reversing direction will not be easy.”

But while styled as a condemnation of Mr. Obama, this book — appearing just as the Republican primary contest is getting underway in earnest — is actually a prod to the Republicans seeking to succeed him. Although Mr. Cheney noted during a speech in Washington this week that he is no longer running for office, he clearly is seeking to influence those who are.

The Cheneys are championing a strain of national security conservatism that waned even within their own party because of the flawed intelligence leading to the Iraq invasion in 2003 and the later travails of the occupation. Even Mr. Bush’s brother Jeb Bush has said that if he had been president, he would not have authorized the invasion had he known then what he knows now, a position shared by other Republican candidates.

And yet, the post-Iraq isolationist streak that seemed on the ascendance for a while has also begun to fade with the rise of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Syria and Iraq and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. Although today’s candidates are not showcasing the unpopular Mr. Cheney in their campaigns, they are, to some extent, voicing a more hawkish message on foreign policy, especially amid the debate over Mr. Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran.

Whether Mr. Cheney is the right messenger for the moment is open to question. While even some Democrats agree with his criticisms of Mr. Obama — that he has given away too much to Iran, that he has not done enough to help Ukraine against Russia, that his withdrawal from Iraq paved the way for the Islamic State — Mr. Cheney all but invites the “well, what-about-you” counterargument...

Okay, yeah, what about you?

The Bush administration's foreign policy looks better with each passing day. For example, see Glenn Reynolds, "SO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DID ALL THE STUFF THEY ACCUSED BUSH OF DOING. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS, BUSH WON THE WAR, AND THEY LOST IT."

They lost it alright.

But back to the New York Times.

ICYMI, Ed Gojek, Marijuana Debunked

I need to plug this book again, especially since I haven't had time to finish it and write a review. And I don't when I'm going to get the time, shoot!

Check it out: Marijuana Debunked: A Handbook for Parents, Pundits, and Politicians Who Want to Know the Case Against Legalization.

Pharmacy Records from 1888 Found at Watson's Drugstore in Orange

Watson's Drugstore is a kind of local institution. Located on the Circle of Orange, they boast a soda fountain and sidewalk dining. It's a real cool place.

And now an historic find in the basement of the establishment, at the O.C. Register, "Found in Watson's Drug & Soda Fountain's basement: Hidden 1888 pharmacy records and more."

There's No Limit to a Radical Lesbian Blogger's Absolute Hatred of Motherhood

From Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain, "‘Feminist Motherhood Has Failed’."

Robert digs down deep into the demonic belly of radical feminism, and the results aren't pretty.

Read it all at the link.

BONUS: At the Lonely Conservative, "Feminism Today: Throw Men in Prison Camps & Scrap Heterosexuality."

Two Texas Football Players Kicked Off Team, Suspended from School, After Assaulting Referee

They blindsided the dude. It's horrible!

Watch, at CBS Evening News, "School investigates assistant coach in referee tacklegate."

Green Marxist 'Gas Restriction Act' Pulled from California Climate Change Bill

This legislation was so whacked that even Democrats bailed out on the proposal.

The background is here, "Green Marxist Nutjobs Push Radical California Gas Restriction Act of 2015 (VIDEO)."

And from yesterday, at the Los Angeles Times, "Gas reduction dropped from California climate change bill."

Is the West Dead Yet?

From VDH, at National Review, "The West - Is the Decline Cyclical?":

The West is paradoxically dominant on the global stage and eroding from within.

Never has Western culture seemed so all-powerful.

Look at the 30 top-ranked universities in the world; they are all American, British, or European — albeit these rankings are based largely on the excellence of their science, engineering, medicine, and computer departments rather than their English and sociology departments.

The American West Coast changed the world’s daily lifestyle with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo.

The worldwide reach of schlock American pop culture is frightening. Hollywood psychodramas, rap vulgarity, reality TV, crude body tattooing and piercing, and the sorry, unhinged Miley Cyrus find their way up the Nile and around Cape Horn.

The United States, even with recent defense cuts, has more conventional military power than nearly the rest of the globe combined. American oil entrepreneurs have changed the global energy calculus.

Millions flee their homes to enter Europe — not Russia, China, or India. Ten percent of Mexico lives in the United States. Polls in Mexico suggest that half the remaining Mexican population would prefer to head north into the U.S., a nation to which, polls also suggest, they of course are hostile.

Immigration is a one-way Western street. Those who, in the abstract, damn the West — as much as elite Westerners themselves do — want very much to live inside it. The loudest anti-Western voices in the Middle East are usually housed in Western universities, not in Gaza. Jorge Ramos is a fierce critic of supposed American cruelty to illegal immigrants — so much so that he fled Mexico for America, became a citizen (how is that possible, given American bias against immigrants?), landed a multimillion-dollar salary working for the non-Latino-owned Spanish-language network Univision, and then put his kids in private school to shield them from hoi polloi of the sort he champions each evening. Now that’s the power of the West.

The alternatives are uninviting. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Pervez Musharraf, and Mohamed Morsi all resided in the West for long periods of time until political power beckoned at home. Putin’s Russia is a geriatric and unhealthy kleptocracy. China will never square the circle of free-market capitalist consumerism and Communist state autocracy. India, like Brazil, is always corrupt and always said to be full of potential. Neo-Communism has all but wrecked Latin America. The African nations are still tribal societies beneath a thin statist veneer. The Middle East is now mostly pre-civilized. (The Asian Tigers have escaped these fates by becoming mostly Westernized.) And, in our wired age, the maladies of the Third World are all instantly known and contrasted with the civilized alternative in the West.

But as in mid-fifth-century Athens and late-republican Rome, there are signs that the West is eroding — and fast. The common Western malady is age-old and cyclical. It was long ago described, over some thousand years of decline, by an array of Classical scolds, from Thucydides and Aristophanes to Tacitus, Petronius, Plutarch, Suetonius, and Procopius. In the case of modern America, Britain, and Europe, the sheer material bounty spawned by free-market capitalism and legally protected private property, combined with the freedom of the individual, creates a sort of ennui. Boredom is the logical result of that lethal mix of affluence and leisure.

It is not just that Westerners forget who gave them their bounty, but they tend to damn anonymous ancestors who worked so hard, but without a modern sense of taste and politically correct deference. Of course, so far, Western civilization presses on, despite the periodic sky-is-falling warnings that echo the likes of Friedrich Nietzsche, Oswald Spengler, and H. G. Wells. But does it press on as it did before?

 Still more.

Nina Agdal on Instagram!

I thought Instagram cracked down on nudity at their site.

Perhaps, although bare backsides must be perfectly fine, by the looks of this Nina Agdal post from the other day.

She's one of my favorites.

Has the New York Times Dismissed Bernie Sanders?

But of course.

The Old Gray Lady's in the tank for Hillary.

But see ombudswoman Margaret Sullivan, "Has the Times Dismissed Bernie Sanders?":

First, some numbers. Mr. Sanders, since his announcement on April 30 until the end of August, has been the subject of 59 Times articles (opinion pieces are not included here, nor are wire-service reports). This includes not only those on the news pages of the paper but also those in such mainly online homes as The Upshot and First Draft. Of those, 12 have been straight news coverage. And five Sanders articles have been on the front page since he declared.

How does this compare with the coverage of some of the other candidates, particularly Mrs. Clinton? Looking at August alone, The Times ran 14 articles on Mr. Sanders, compared with 54 on Mrs. Clinton. Donald Trump – like Mr. Sanders, also considered by many an extreme long shot for his party’s nomination – got the most coverage last month: 63 articles. Other Republican candidates received far less ink than Trump: Jeb Bush was the subject of 18 articles in August, and Marco Rubio, 10. (Of course, not all press is good press for any of the candidates. In Mrs. Clinton’s case, for example, many of the August articles dealt with her questionable email practices as secretary of state.)

So, in terms of numbers alone, The Times certainly has not ignored Mr. Sanders. The Times did get off to a very slow start with its Sanders coverage but has responded as the crowds at his events have grown...

Huh?

Fourteen to 54? Well, if they're not ignoring him, he's sure got a ways to go before catching up to Hillary's wall-to-wall saturation coverage. Sheesh. And remember, I like Bernie Sanders for the lulz. I mean, the guy's an out-in-the-open socialist and he's leading the polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire? You'd think that would be leading the news. But, Hillary Clinton partisans with bylines. You know the story.

Jackie Johnson's Tropical Heatwave Forecast

This weather has been downright unreal.

One hundred degree heat with torrential downpours. It's wild.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Obama Administration Under Increasing Pressure to Change Syria Strategy

Well, yeah.

The refugee crisis is the product of the administration's global appeasement policies, and particularly this clusterfuck president's abandonment of the Middle East.

At the Los Angeles Times, "U.S. faces pressure to change its strategy in Syria":

The Obama administration is under increasing pressure from allied leaders to expand military action in Syria, as Russia funnels in more arms and troops, Islamic State militants seize new ground and waves of Syrian refugees fleeing the bloody conflict head toward European cities.

The pressure to change the United States' approach comes one year after President Obama said at a White House news conference that the U.S. did not yet have a fully developed strategy for dealing with the Syrian war. Obama has been repeatedly criticized for failing to set a clear strategy to deal with Islamic State militants who have taken control of large swaths of Syria and Iraq. But so far, he has resisted calls to commit American forces to the front lines in another prolonged war.

European officials have grown pessimistic about the U.S. strategy amid the daily influx of tens of thousands of migrants, many fleeing the Syrian fighting, and the failure of the U.S.-led coalition to dislodge Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group also known as ISIS or ISIL.

"We are not winning this at the moment," a senior Western diplomat told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. "We need to redouble our efforts collectively to see whether there isn't more that we can do to solve these dual problems: the humanitarian crisis and the growth of ISIL terrorism."

The advances by Islamic State and other opposition groups have rattled the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, causing him to rely increasingly on support from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has sent a detachment of marines to Syria, U.S. officials say, adding to an escalating military presence that includes increased flights of Russian cargo planes into an airport in western Syria, stepped-up deliveries of armored fighting vehicles and other weapons and the construction of housing for further Russian forces.

U.S. officials and allies do not yet know what Russia's intentions are in Syria, but fear its involvement could extend Assad's military capabilities and prolong a civil war that has killed more than 300,000 people over the last four years...

More at that top link.

And flashback: "Obama's Pathetic Bombing Campaign Hasn't Stopped Expansion of Islamic State in Syria."

Jeb Bush Gun Control Question Edited from Stephen Colbert's Late Show Premiere

It's not just that it's politically corrupt, it takes the actual good stuff out of TV.

From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "VIDEO: Mangled Response by Jeb! to Gun Control Question was Edited from Late Show Premiere."

Madeleine Behr, USA Today Reporter Covering Scott Walker Campaign, Signed Recall Petition in 2011

Democrat Party activists with bylines.

From Kimberlee Kaye, at Legal Insurrection, "USA Today Reporter Covering Scott Walker Campaign Signed Recall Petition."

Cool Off with This Lasko 2551 Wind Curve Platinum Tower Fan with Remote Control and Fresh Air Ionizer

Sounds pretty snappy, and goodness it's hot out there. Pump up your cooling devices!

At Amazon, Imported 3-Speed Oscillating Tower Fan: Lasko 2551 Wind Curve Platinum With Remote Control and Fresh Air Ionizer.

Plus, here's Donald Trump's new book, Time to Get Tough: Make America Great Again!

Lindsey Pelas Hilarious Bikini Blooper Video at Playboy

This is a follow-up to Playboy's, "Keep Your BBQ's Going With Lindsey Pelas."

Watch: "Lindsey Pelas' Behind the Scenes and Bloopers of Her Playboy Shoot."

'Black Lives Matter' Movement Based on a Lie

This is from Jason Riley, at the Wall Street Journal, "‘Black Lives Matter’—but Reality, Not So Much."

It's not a new argument, but it's updated, and most excellent:

It’s the black poor—the primary victims of violent crimes and thus the people most in need of effective policing—who must live with the effects of these falsehoods. As the Black Lives Matter movement has spread, murder rates have climbed in cities across the country, from New Orleans to Baltimore to St. Louis and Chicago. The Washington, D.C., homicide rate is 43% higher than it was a year ago. By the end of August, Milwaukee and New Haven, Conn., both had already seen more murders than in all of 2014.

Publicly, law-enforcement officials have been reluctant to link the movement’s antipolice rhetoric to the spike in violent crime. Privately, they have been echoing South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who said in a speech last week that the movement was harming the very people whose interests it claims to represent. “Most of the people who now live in terror because local police are too intimidated to do their jobs are black,” the governor said. “Black lives do matter, and they have been disgracefully jeopardized by the movement that has laid waste to Ferguson and Baltimore.”

More.

Man Dies After Being Swept Away in Flash Flood While Hiking Near Mill Creek Crossing in Forest Falls

It's in San Bernardino.

Watch, from yesterday, at ABC News 7 Los Angeles, "MAN SWEPT AWAY IN FLASH FLOOD WHILE HIKING IN FOREST FALLS."

Sad. The dude was on a first date.

We had a tropical downpour just a few minutes ago in Irvine. It happens so fast. You can see how dangerous it would be in mountainous areas.

Olympics 2024 in Los Angeles? What About Those Busted Sidewalks and Retiree Pension Costs?

At IBD, "Olympics? L.A. Already Faces Herculean Budget Woes."

No, it's not the best idea.

See the letters to the editor at the Los Angeles Times, "L.A. can't fill all its potholes, but it wants the Olympics. That's insane":

To the editor: I don't live in Los Angeles anymore, but I still have an affinity for the city where I grew up, so I have to ask: Did anyone see the irony or humor in the juxtaposition of the headlines on Sunday's front page? ("Inequity is 'baked in' when it comes to L.A. city services; where you live matters," Aug. 28)

According to one article, the city will be on the hook for billions if it is selected to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, but according to another piece, it can't consistently provide basic services. Graffiti removal can take days, depending on where you live. Potholes and trash may go unaddressed for weeks after a complaint.

This particular story does not even take into consideration the sidewalks, which are on a 30-year repair plan, and the water system, which breaks regularly. And all the billions to be spent on the Olympics are supposed to turn a profit of less than 3%. The mayor must have a very sharp pencil and a crystal ball. Good luck.

Steven L. Rice, Thousand Oaks

California Braces for Lower Standardized Test Results for Students

But no worries. The tests are new and the scoring system is more difficult than previous tests. As if that's going to alleviate testing anxiety, or something.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Don't panic, officials say as California braces for lower student test results."

Well, no worries. The state's getting rid of the high school exit exam anyway. These standardized tests are just for show, something to wave before outside regulators to prove bureaucrats are going through the motions. See, "Governor signs bill dropping high school exit exam requirement for class of 2015."

Keep Cool in San Diego

Hit the beach!

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Special Offers in Fine Arts

At Amazon, Shop Special Offers - 40% Off Fine Art .

Plus, from Mark Bauerlein, ed., The State of the American Mind: 16 Leading Critics on the New Anti-Intellectualism.

European Union Proposes Distribution of 160,000 Refugees

Yeah, that oughta work.

Shoot, Juncker was heckled.

And 120,000? 160,000? What's another 40 thousand or so asylum seekers, meh? We've got room to spare!

At WSJ, "EU’s Juncker Proposes New Refugee Quota Plan as Bloc Struggles to Respond to Migrant Wave":

STRASBOURG, France—A top European Union official on Wednesday proposed redistributing 160,000 refugees across the bloc, but acknowledged that wouldn’t go far enough to address the largest flow of migrants to the continent since the aftermath of World War II.

The EU has sputtered in its attempts to craft a coherent approach to the crisis amid competing national interests and insistence by some countries—particularly in the poorer east—that taking in refugees must be voluntary.

The new plan, which has to be approved by a majority of EU governments, is the second attempt by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to help Greece, Italy and Hungary, the three countries on the front line of the crisis. The plan also seeks to speed up procedures across the bloc to send back migrants who don’t qualify for asylum.

“I do believe that given the gravity of the situation we face, this proposal is quite modest,” Mr. Juncker acknowledged at a news conference, adding that nearly 500,000 people have made their way to Europe in the past year.

But he pointed out that earlier even more modest plans were rejected by EU leaders and that if “we had taken decisions back then, perhaps we would have saved a lot of lives.”

Over the next two years, most EU countries—excluding the U.K., Denmark and Ireland, who have opt-outs from Europe’s common asylum system—would be required to take in a total of 160,000 refugees in hard-hit Italy, Greece and Hungary.

Germany, which is the main destination for migrants entering from those EU border states, is one of the architects of the proposal and hopes to diffuse the stream of people who would try to seek asylum there.

Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her call Wednesday for the EU to agree to binding rules, saying Mr. Juncker’s proposal was a “first step of a fair distribution” but more is needed.

According to German government estimates, some 800,000 people are expected to apply for asylum there this year alone.

“It’s not possible to set a limit and to say ‘We don’t care beyond that and it is then an issue for two or three or four countries,” she said. “This must be a European responsibility and only then will all member states care about the causes of migration” and help address conflicts driving people to flee to Europe...

More.

Plus, at Der Spiegel, "A Continent Adrift: Juncker Proposes Fixes to EU's Broken Asylum Policies."

Hot Summer Babe Blogging Rule 5

Summer's not quite done yet, by no means, considering these triple-digit temperatures we're having. Time to get in the pool with some hot bikini babes!

Maybe they'll go skinny dipping with you, heh.

At Egotastic!, "HOLLY! ROSIE! KELLY! AND RHIAN! HOT END OF SUMMER SEXTASTIC SHOWDOWN!"

San Pedro Residents Protest Donald Trump Visit to Battleship Iowa

Sounds like Trump's still working on Latino engagement in the Los Angeles harbor area.

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "San Pedro not happy about Donald Trump’s event at Battleship Iowa":

San Pedro is not reacting kindly to Donald Trump’s scheduled national security speech at the Battleship Iowa next week.

In fact, some serious name-calling has erupted in an online petition, signed by nearly 3,000 people, that encourages cancellation of the celebrity presidential candidate’s visit.

“Donald Trump is an arrogant, racist, misogynist buffoon,” said one resident who signed an online petition titled “Tell the USS Iowa: We Don’t Want Trump in San Pedro, CA.”

Other petitioners were just as blunt in their rhetoric about the celebrity presidential candidate’s Tuesday appearance, sponsored by a veterans group.

• “We do not need discrimination of any type, San Pedro is a humble town and does not need Trump to come and mix waters.”

• “San Pedro is a melting pot of different cultures — Donald Trump has already made his intolerance clear; he has no place in our community.”

• “He’s a buffoon. He’s a racist. It is a city built on blue-collar labor. Does Trump know what that is? And much of that labor comes from immigrants. They are welcome here in Pedro. You, Trump, are not.”

Gabriela Lopez of San Pedro, a 25-year-old aspiring physician, started the petition that asks Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino to send Trump packing before he arrives in the port union stronghold.

“It was shocking to me that he would be speaking (at) the battleship,” Lopez said.

The ship, she said, should be neutral political territory.

And it is, said Jonathan Williams, CEO and president of the Battleship Iowa, the floating museum that has been in San Pedro since 2012.

“As a 501(c)(3), we are nonpolitical and apolitical. We can’t endorse or promote any political candidate,” Williams said. “We provide a community platform to all groups and organizations, regardless of political affiliation.”

More at that top link.

Marine Corps' Women-in-Combat Experiment Yields Breakdown of Unit Cohesion

Hmm... Not the kinda meme we usually hear about. Unexpectedly!

At WaPo, "Both the men and women in the nine-month exercise reported a breakdown in unit cohesion":

Over the past nine months, the Marine Corps tested a gender-integrated task force in both Twentynine Palms, Calif. and Camp Lejeune, N.C. in an attempt to gauge what the Marine Corps might look like with women in combat roles.

According to a recent report in the Marine Corps Times, only a small number of women were left by the experiment’s conclusion — two of the roughly two dozen that started — mostly in part because of the physical and mental stress that comes with combat roles. Both the men and women in the task force also reported a breakdown in unit cohesion with some voicing  a perceived unequal treatment from their peers.

The experiment comes as all branches of the military face a Jan. 1, 2016 deadline to open all combat positions to women — from basic infantry battalions to elite special operations units such as U.S. Navy SEALs. While branches like the Air Force and Navy have relatively small communities where women are currently barred from serving — namely special operations detachments — the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have a host of units and jobs closed to woman. These jobs, known as combat arms, include infantry, artillery and armored divisions.

The gender-integrated Ground Combat Element Task Force served as a snapshot of sorts of what the Marine Corps might look like if women were a staple in combat positions. Each closed position was represented: infantry, artillery and mechanized units, such as tank platoons and light armored reconnaissance detachments, all operated in tandem with one another. The women were spread among them in ratios that would be expected in an integrated Marine Corps, with roughly 90 percent of the branch  made up of men.

The nine-month exercise was broken down into two parts. Initially there was a four-month training period, or “work-up,” at Camp Lejeune, followed by a five month “deployment” to the Mojave Desert in Twentynine Palms. Certain elements of the task force also participated in training at Camp Pendleton, and mountain warfare in Bridgeport, Calif.  This two semester cycle was common over the past 15 years. During the height of the Iraq War, it was common that Marine units would train for six to eight months and then deploy for a similar amount of time.

During both phases of the training, the Marines were hooked up to heart monitors and equipment that monitored their shooting abilities. According to the report, the data will be sent to Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford in order to better tailor his approach to integrating women into Marine combat positions and help establish a baseline for gender-neutral standards that the Marines can possibly apply in the future.

Yet for all the monitoring technology in the field, most of the feedback, both negative and positive, has thus far been anecdotal.

“[The Marine Corps] hope[s] to provide transparency to our research and findings soonest,” Marine spokesman Maj. Christian Devine wrote in an email.

The Marine Corps Times report cites a number of instances where women had a difficult time completing physical tasks, like moving 200 pound dummies off the battlefield or from the turret of a “damaged” vehicle. Peer assessments were also mixed.

Lance Cpl. Chris Augello, a reservist who prior to the experiment was pro-integration, submitted a 13-page essay—which he shared with the Marine Corps Times—on why he had changed his mind.  “The female variable in this social experiment has wrought a fundamental change in the way male [non-commissioned officers] think, act and lead,” he wrote, referring to the female presence and its effect on how Marine Corps small-unit leaders do their job.

Augello, according to the report, also noted that relationships between the female and male Marines in his platoon sometimes turned romantic and in turn became a distraction. Integration, Augello wrote, is “a change that is sadly for the worse, not the better.”

Still more.

Hopefully few lives will be lost from the real-world combat results of gender integration.

Everything's all about equality nowadays, so what can you do?

Greek Coast Guard Allegedly Sabotaging Refugee Rubber Boats, Cutting Fuel Lines, Leaving Migrants Adrift at Sea (VIDEO)

Remember, the Greeks locked refugees inside a stadium without food and water for days. They're really compassionate over there, being communists and all.

Holly Williams reports, for CBS News, "Uniformed men accost refugees, leave them adrift at sea."