WATCH: Humiliating Video Shows U.S. Sailor Apologizing for Vessel Drifting Into Iranian Waters

Total humiliation.

This is the treatment we get for giving Iran the nuclear green light, to say nothing of the freed $100 billion in financial assets to be released this week.

Americans are laid down low with this jihad-loving administration. For shame. For stinking shame.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Iranian video shows U.S. sailors kneeling in surrender pose":

U.S. Central Command spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Ben Tisdale said the video "appears to be authentic" but said he had no other information about its contents.

"We cannot speak to the conditions of the situation or what the crew was experiencing at the time," Tisdale said in a statement. "The crew is currently undergoing the reintegration process and we will continue to investigate this incident. What matters most right now, however, is that our sailors are back safely."

The video depicts seized weapons and ammunition laid out on a platform and scenes from inside a boat, including shots of a U.S. Navy uniform, a storage room and racks of equipment, along with a scene of an Iranian officer in a green beret and fatigues examining a document as he sits in a pilot’s chair.

In one part, Americans are seen being served food in a room, while someone flips through a number of U.S. passports, presumably belonging to the sailors.

One of the captives identified as the commander is interviewed and makes a statement that at times is directed straight at the camera.

“It was a mistake that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake," said the U.S sailor, whose name was not given.

"It was a misunderstanding. We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water," he said. "The Iranian behavior was fantastic while we were here. We thank you very much for your hospitality and your assistance.”

The U.S. State Department says no formal apology was proffered to Iran.

Vice President Joe Biden said there was "nothing to apologize for."

"When you have a problem with the boat, you apologize the boat had a problem? No, and there was no looking for any apology," Biden told "CBS This Morning." "This was just standard nautical practice."

It is still unclear if the stricken boat suffered mechanical or navigational failure. The two vessels, known as riverine command boats, were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain when U.S. authorities lost contact with them, the Pentagon said.

More at WSJ, "Videos Raise Questions About Iran’s Treatment of U.S. Sailors."

'Game of Thrones' Actress Samantha Bentley 'Dying Monkey' Protest Outside Russian Embassy in London (VIDEO)

I guess Russia's taking a monkey to space for scientific research, and that's sent the far-left PETA loons into fits of derangement.

At the PETA homepage, "PHOTOS: ‘Dying Monkey’ Begs Russia Not to Send Primates to Mars":

A striking protest outside the Russian Embassy in London today urged Russia’s space agency to abandon its unethical “monkeys on Mars” mission.

And, watch, at Ruptly, "U.K.: Game of Thrones Actress Strips Naked to Protest Russian Space Monkeys."

#ObamaCare Employer Mandate Worse Than Feared

At IBD, "ObamaCare Employer Mandate Hurts Low-Wage Workers":

Yet another study purporting to show that ObamaCare hasn't caused many people to work fewer hours has set off another round of high fives among the law's boosters.

But they should hold their applause, because there's a strong case that ObamaCare's employer mandate is worse than its critics feared — though not necessarily for the reasons they expected.

While ObamaCare has clearly had a negative impact on work hours, which one serious flaw of the latest study — counting 29.5-hour workers as full-time — and other data limitations help to obscure, it's fair to say that the law hasn't curtailed full-time work in a big way. But that's because employers have figured out how to dodge liability by offering "affordable" coverage that costs much more than their modest-wage workers are likely to pay.

Gaming The System

This gaming of the system, which ObamaCare rules invite, has serious consequences. A few million full-time, modest-wage workers — and their spouses — have remained uninsured, with many liable for ObamaCare individual mandate penalties. Another roughly 1 million low-wage workers have opted for the kind of coverage that ObamaCare was supposed to do away with: skinny plans that won't cover hospitalization or surgery but will let them avoid a penalty.

Many other full-time, modest-wage workers are getting more comprehensive coverage via their employers — but with $5,000-plus deductibles that could easily torpedo their finances in a health emergency.

These are the direct effects of rules that deny full-time workers access to ObamaCare subsidies — and let employers escape a fine — if they offer bronze-level coverage costing a worker close to 10% of wage income for premiums alone. For a full-time worker earning $17,500, paying $1,670 for bronze coverage qualifies as "affordable." That's $1,000 more than someone at the same income level would have to pay for an exchange plan that caps total out-of-pocket expenses at about $550 in 2016.

Then there are the indirect effects of employer mandate rules that leave so many low-wage, full-time workers with coverage that is of little use...

Still more.

$1.58 Billion Powerball Winning Ticket Sold in Chino Hills, California

The Los Angeles Times reports, "Winning Powerball jackpot ticket sold in Chino Hills."

And at London's Daily Mail, "We have a winner! Celebrations outside California 7-Eleven store that sold $1.58BILLION Powerball jackpot... as jokers trick the internet with Photoshopped tickets claiming they scooped prize."

My wife bought about 10 tickets. I don't think we hit anything or obviously I would've heard about it by now, lol.

There may be winners in a few other states, so the Chino Hills guy, who is said to have spent $100 thousand on tickets, won't get the jackpot for himself.

Jackie Johnson's Cold Thursday Forecast

Oh boy's it's been nippy this last couple of nights, and I've been out early in the morning to give my wife a ride to work. Brrrr!!

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

St. Louis Gives Up on NFL After Bitter Loss of Beloved Rams

Bitter's not a strong enough word.

At the Los Angeles Times, "St. Louis giving up on the NFL after loss of Rams":

The NFL may have made its last deal in St. Louis.

Less than 24 hours after the loss of the city's second professional football team in since the 1980s, Mayor Francis Slay said he had no interest in working with the NFL again.

"Their home cities and hometown fans are commodities to be abandoned once they no longer suit the league's purposes," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told the Associated Press.

"At this point I'm so frustrated and disappointed with the NFL," Slay said. "Why would anybody want to, in any way, even entertain any suggestions from the NFL after the way they dealt with St. Louis here? I mean, it was dishonest. They were not being truthful with us. There's no appetite that I have to take another run at an NFL team."

That could change, of course, with time, but the wound is still fresh...

Still more.

ADDED: At the Wall Street Journal, "St. Louis Bids Sad, Bitter Goodbye to a Second NFL Team in a Generation."

Venomous Sea Snakes at Coronado Beach (VIDEO)

A lot of strange creatures have been washing up with the El Niño storms.

Watch, at ABC News 10 San Diego, "Unique sea snake washes to shore in Coronado: Marine biologists blame El Niño for the rare occurrence."

Zoey Deutch Poses for Cosmopolitan

At Egotastic!, "ZOEY DEUTCH."

And at Fashion Gone Rogue, "Zoey Deutch Poses in Red-Hot Looks for Cosmopolitan."

Political Parties Look Inward After Obama's Call to 'Fix Our Politics' (VIDEO)

At the New York Times, "Obama’s Plea to ‘Fix Our Politics’ Leaves Both Sides Looking Inward":

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s urgent call on Tuesday for fundamental changes in the nation’s political system — coupled with the angry tone of the Republican presidential primary campaign — represents grim evidence that the bitter partisanship that has defined his tenure has reached deep into American democracy.

Mr. Obama devoted the closing words of his final State of the Union address to a desperate plea to “fix our politics” and allow the public and elected officials to engage in “rational, constructive debates.”

But who is really responsible for the nasty turn in civic life? Democrats and Republicans say both sides are.

“I think there’s probably a lot of us to blame,” Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, said on Wednesday during a breakfast with reporters. “It’s the structure of our campaigns, the structure of our districts, what’s happening in terms of news media, that is to say that you can select your news media the same way that you select your neighborhood or your church.”

“You can end up in an echo chamber unless you aggressively work to get out of that,” Mr. McDonough added.

Just as Mr. Obama on Tuesday acknowledged his own failure in curbing the rancor and distrust between the two parties after entering office with a pledge to do just that, top officials on both sides of the political divide acknowledged culpability in fostering the hostile climate that has left many Americans turned off and cynical about politics even as the country prepares to choose Mr. Obama’s successor.

In the Republican response to the president, Nikki R. Haley, the governor of South Carolina, also conceded that Republicans must try not to point the finger only at Democrats.

“We need to be honest with each other, and with ourselves,” she said. “While Democrats in Washington bear much responsibility for the problems facing America today, they do not bear it alone. There is more than enough blame to go around.

“We as Republicans need to own that truth. We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America’s leadership. We need to accept that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken.”

The two parties have spent much of the Obama era trying to make the other take responsibility for the dysfunction of the government, but both have played roles...

More.

I don't believe the president's sincere. He's been the most deliberately polarizing president in memory. And the Democrats openly practice the politics of personal destruction and have been for decades. The public needs to elect a government capable of sidelining the far-left demons who've implanted deceit and rancor across the land.

WATCH: Footage Shows U.S. Sailors Being Captured by Iranian Naval Forces (VIDEO)

The sailors were forced to apologize before their release.

We grovel to Iran. We just grovel to that tinpot country.

Via CNN:

Bundy Militiamen to Announce #Malheur Exit Plan on Friday (VIDEO)

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff: Militants say they'll reveal exit plan Friday."

St. Louis Rams to Return to Los Angeles (VIDEO)

This is the big story in L.A. today.

See, "NFL will return to Los Angeles for 2016 season."

And, "Ram fans kept the faith while team lost it."

And at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Secretary John Kerry Thanks Iran for 'Quick Release' of U.S. Sailors Held Hostage (VIDEO)

Well, thank goodness they're released.

The U.S. had to get down on bended knee for the mullahs.

At the BBC, "Iran frees US Navy sailors held in Gulf after incursion," and the Los Angeles Times, "Iran releases 10 detained U.S. sailors who strayed into country's waters."

And watch, via CNN:

Hillary's Commanding Lead Nationally Crumbles Under Sanders Insurgency (VIDEO)

Following-up from yesterday, "Hillary Clinton's Campaign is Crashing; Could Lose Both Iowa and New Hampshire (VIDEO)."

At the New York Times, "Hillary Clinton's Lead Over Bernie Sanders Slipping in New Poll":

As the first nominating contest approaches, Hillary Clinton’s commanding lead nationally in the Democratic primary has largely melted away, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

The tightened race between Mrs. Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is revealing a sharp generational divide within the Democratic Party, with primary voters under 45 favoring Mr. Sanders by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio.

Yet more than 7 in 10 Democratic voters — including most supporters of Mr. Sanders — still believe Mrs. Clinton will ultimately win the party’s nomination. Voters expressed deeper confidence in her ability to be an effective commander in chief and more of her supporters say their minds are made up compared with Mr. Sanders’s backers.

Over all, 48 percent of Democratic primary voters across the country support Mrs. Clinton, while 41 percent back Mr. Sanders, the poll found. Just a month ago, she led Mr. Sanders by 20 percentage points nationally.

Mr. Sanders’s shifting fortunes underscore the unsettled state of the presidential race in both parties with just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Previous contests have seen candidates rise and fall in the weeks before the first votes are cast, and national polls at this stage of the race are not necessarily predictive of the final outcome of the monthslong nominating battle. But Mr. Sanders’s surge has clearly unnerved the Clinton campaign, and she is responding aggressively.

Two state polls released Tuesday further underscored the stiff competition that Mrs. Clinton is facing from Mr. Sanders. A Quinnipiac University poll found Mr. Sanders rising in Iowa, and a survey by Monmouth University gave Mr. Sanders a double-digit lead in New Hampshire.

“I like Bernie’s sincerity,” Dalton Paget, 27, an insurance agent from Spokane, Wash., said in a follow-up interview. “He’s talking about working towards policies that he’s been championing for a long time.”

In particular, Mr. Paget cited Mr. Sanders’s advocacy of overhauling the campaign finance system. “Honestly, before I heard much about Bernie Sanders and realized he had a decent chance for winning, I might have supported Hillary,” he said.

Mrs. Clinton is no longer treating Mr. Sanders as a distant rival who can be left unmentioned as she looks toward the general election. She is now confronting Mr. Sanders more forcefully, raising doubts about his electability and criticizing him as weak on the issue of gun violence.

In a rare issue on which she can challenge Mr. Sanders from the left, Mrs. Clinton has repeatedly sought to highlight his vote in 2005 for legislation that broadly shields gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits, portraying him as out of step with her and President Obama. And on Monday, she proposed a tax surcharge on people who earn more than $5 million per year, exploiting an issue that has energized Mr. Sanders’s supporters...

The Clinton machine will utterly destroy Sanders. I bet he watches his back. A lot.

But continue reading.

Democrats Are in Disarray, Not Republicans

From Salena Zito, at RCP, "The Dems, Not the GOP, in Disarray This Election":

Last Tuesday, Bloomberg political reporter Sahil Kapur tweeted from a Donald Trump rally in Massachusetts that an undecided New Hampshire voter said he will likely vote for the Republican businessman.

The man's second choice was Vermont Democrat-Socialist Bernie Sanders.

Tweeted Fox News contributor Michelle Fields the next day: “My cab driver in Iowa says he's an independent. His first choice is Trump. Second choice? Hillary.”

Data provided to The New York Times by Civis Analytics, a Democrat firm, shows Trump's support is strongest among self-identified Republicans, a coalition that uniquely follows the migration and settlement patterns of early Scots-Irish Jacksonian Democrats. That places their concentration across the industrial North, through the Rust Belt, down into Appalachia and the Deep South.

These are Democrats by birth, a legacy of their New Deal-Democrat parents and grandparents, who largely stopped supporting a party that began cutting them loose after winning their support in the 2006 midterm elections.

That explains the odd choices between Trump and Sanders, or Trump and Clinton: They're straddling between one party that used to include them and another that now is trying to fit them in.

Since the 2008 presidential campaign, Democrats have purposefully cut white, traditional-values, working-class, predominantly male voters from their coalition in favor of building an urban- and cosmopolitan-centered coalition of minorities, elites and women.

That move left discarded voters with nowhere to go except toward the Republican Party, for which they turned out in large numbers in the 2010 and 2014 midterms and gave the GOP historic wins in state legislatures, governors' offices and Congress.

The mainstream media's Trump storyline is that his candidacy has fractured the Republican base, according to Keystone College political scientist Jeff Brauer.

“Most of the focus has been on the apparent schism between the establishment candidates — such as Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie — and the outsiders, with frontrunner Trump being the most emblematic,” Brauer said. “However, the real story could be more about the eroding support of the Democratic Party throughout large segments of the country.”

For decades — and especially during the Obama presidency — traditional Democrat strongholds in the blue-collar North and in vast areas of the South have shifted, in some cases dramatically, to Republicans, he contends.

Many registered Democrats in those regions now self-identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. Trump has captivated these voters, resulting in his commanding lead in the Republican field.

“In essence, Trump and the other ‘outsiders' haven't as much splintered the Republican Party but, rather, have taken advantage of the splintering of the Democratic Party,” Brauer said...

Keep reading.

Fact-Checking Obama's Final State of the Union

At the Daily Signal.

PREVIOUSLY: "Obama Attacks GOP for 'Anti-Muslim' Rhetoric, Claims Islamic State Just 'Killers and Fanatics' (VIDEO)."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Demands 'Apology' Before Releasing U.S. Sailors: Dismisses Talk of Prompt Release

I said as much earlier, "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)."

At the Telegraph UK, "Iran demands apology from US before it releases 10 sailors":

As well as playing down reports of a prompt release of the sailors, Iran is said to be demanding an apology from the US after its sailors were arrested for "violating" Iran's waters.

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in touch with US Secretary of State Kerry," Iran's Revolutionary Guards' naval commander, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, said in an interview broadcast live on state television.

"Zarif took a firm stance as the sailors had violated Iran's territorial waters and asked the United States for an apology," he added.

Source: Sky News on Twitter.

Reuters: Iran's Revolutionary Guards dismissed talk of the prompt release of 10 U.S. sailors they had arrested as speculation by others

— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) January 13, 2016

Update - Reuters: Iran's Revolutionary Guards say Tehran has asked the U.S. for an apology for "violating" Iran's territorial waters

— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) January 13, 2016

Previous blogging on Iran's seizure of U.S. naval vessels here.

Jackie Johnson's Wednesday Forecast

We've got some scattered showers expected, but I guess those dramatic El Niño storms aren't coming back for a bit.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Obama Attacks GOP for 'Anti-Muslim' Rhetoric, Claims Islamic State Just 'Killers and Fanatics' (VIDEO)

I sat quietly through most of the speech, but when Hussein once again said Islamic State isn't Islamic, that was about it.

The Wall Street Journal's live blog is here, "Obama’s Final State of the Union Speech — Live Blog."

And at Reuters, "Obama knocks Republicans for anti-Muslim rhetoric, seeks to set 2016 tone":

President Barack Obama knocked Republican presidential candidates for anti-Muslim rhetoric and accused critics on Tuesday of playing into the hands of Islamic State in a speech aimed at setting an optimistic tone for his last year in office.

Obama, delivering his last State of the Union speech to Congress before leaving office next year, said it was fiction to declare the United States was in economic decline or getting weaker on the international stage.

In a direct slap at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Obama said insulting Muslims hurt the United States and "betrayed" its identity.

"When politicians insult Muslims ... that doesn’t make us safer," he said, drawing applause from the crowd in the House of Representatives chamber. "It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals."

Also, at Fox News 6 Marquette, Michigan, "State of the Union: Obama calls terrorists 'killers and fanatics' who need to be destroyed":

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — Addressing the nation in his final State of the Union speech, President Obama spoke of terror, calling ISIL and other terrorist organizations, "killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed."

"We don't need to build them up to show that we're serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world's largest religions," he said...

Here's the key passage from the text of the speech:

Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence. That’s the story ISIL wants to tell; that’s the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don’t need to build them up to show that we’re serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world’s largest religions. We just need to call them what they are — killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed.

More at Politico, "Obama accuses GOP of fearmongering."

And Memeorandum.

UPDATE: Reports Say Iran Accusing Captured U.S. Navy Vessels of 'Snooping'

At IBT, "Iran-US Navy Dispute Live Updates: Iranian Military Holds 10 American Sailors On Iran’s Farsi Island":

UPDATE: 5:50 p.m. EST — Two small U.S. Navy boats that were stopped by Iran Tuesday may have run out of gas or had mechanical problems when they drifted into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, the Washington Post reported. The ships were within 12 nautical miles of Iran when they broke down. It was unclear how the American crew and vessels were “picked up” by Iran, according to a Defense Department official. Fars, an Iranian state news agency, said 10 sailors had been arrested and were suspected of “snooping,” the New York Times reported.

The two boats each had several 50. cal guns and were "snooping around" in Iranian waters, Fars News Agency says

— Thomas Erdbrink (@ThomasErdbrink) January 12, 2016

I seriously doubt reports that Iran will be releasing our people shortly:

Iran agreed to return sailors soon, after 2 U.S. Navy boats drifted into territorial waters https://t.co/RHBaiWeQXb

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) January 13, 2016

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Expressed Sympathy for Victims of Suicide Bombing in Istanbul (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "Islamic State Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square (VIDEO)."

Perhaps as many as nine German tourists were killed in the attack.

Watch, at Euronews, "Germany's Merkel offers condolences to families of Istanbul bomb victims."

Hillary Clinton's Campaign is Crashing; Could Lose Both Iowa and New Hampshire (VIDEO)

From Jon Scott's segment this morning, on Fox News, "Could Hillary Clinton lose both New Hampshire and Iowa." (Democrat pollster Jessica Tarlov nails the comments at the clip.)

And here's all the latest polling:

* "Hillary Clinton's Lead Over Bernie Sanders Slipping in New Poll," at the New York Times (via Memeorandum).

* "Quinnipiac poll: Sanders surges to retake lead in Iowa," at the Hill (via Memeorandum.)

* "Hillary Clinton's trend line in Iowa polling should scare her campaign," at WaPo (via Memeorandum).

And following-up on yesterday's Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, "Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Even in Early Races, Poll Finds," here's Lester Holt at last night NBC Nightly News:

Donald Trump Confident 'We Can Win Iowa' (VIDEO)

Well, he conceded he might lose Iowa a week or so back, so he must be bucked up by the recent poll numbers showing him ahead of Ted Cruz in the Hawkeye State.

Again, Trump's testing the theory that he can propel undecided voters and couch potatoes to the caucuses.

Neil Cavuto has the interview, on Fox Business Channel, "Trump: We can win Iowa."

WATCH: Dramatic Video Shows Gun Battle During Raid on Mexican Drug Lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán

Following-up from yesterday, "Rolling Stone Stirs Controversy with Sean Penn's Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán Interview."

Via Telegraph UK:

Jen Psaki, White House Communications Director, Says Obama Has 'No Plans' to Address Iran Hostages at Tonight's #SOTU

This just in:

Obama has 'no plans" to address new Iranian hostage crisis in tonight's #SOTU, per Jen Psaki, the administration's Baghdad Bob. Via @CNN.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 12, 2016

I'll update with video if it becomes available.

PREVIOUSLY: "CNN's Barbara Starr Reports: Iran Assures U.S. of Safe Return of Sailors (VIDEO)." 

Also, "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)," and "UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!"

Islamic State Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square (VIDEO)

But, watch, Obama will claim ISIS is on the run at tonight's State of the Union Address.

At the New York Times, "Istanbul Suicide Bombing Kills 10; Turkey Blames ISIS."



Plus, more video, at Agence France-Presse, "Terror attack strikes fear in Istanbul tourists."

CNN's Barbara Starr Reports: Iran Assures U.S. of Safe Return of Sailors (VIDEO)

I don't believe a word the Iranians say, although Barbara Starr is a judicious and reputable source.

Watch:



PREVIOUSLY: "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)," and "UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!"

UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!

CNN's Jim Sciutto reports:

Key here: Iran's Fars News agency says US sailors picked up by Revolutionary Guard Corps, from hardline camp & v. opposed to nuclear deal

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 12, 2016

@jimsciutto @NickKristof if Fars is reporting that Rev Guard is involved suggests this was no Good samaritan rescue mission.

— Aaron David Miller (@aarondmiller2) January 12, 2016

Iranian hardliners have been systematically trying to undermine Rouhani and damage US-Iranian relations. Seizing sailors, that'll do it.

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 12, 2016

PREVIOUSLY: "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)."

DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)

On the day of the State of the Union Address too.

And the Iranians are supposed to be returning the sailors shortly, according to the Obama Pentagon.

That's, of course, Democrat propaganda! Our relations with the mullahs have never been better!

At the Telegraph UK, "Iran holds two US Navy boats in Persian Gulf":

US military officials say they briefly lost contact with two small Navy craft in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian forces seized two US vessels crossing the Persian Gulf it has been claimed, but later gave American officials assurances that the craft and their crews would be returned unharmed.

The Pentagon has said it briefly lost contact with two small Navy craft in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday but has received assurances from Iran that the crew and vessels will be returned safely and promptly.

A Pentagon spokesman said that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the US lost contact with them.

"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," he said
Fox News claimed that they strayed into Iranian waters.

"Earlier Tuesday we lost contact with two small U.S. Naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain," a US defence official told the Reuters news agency.

The White House confirmed that it was aware of the situation and is working to get U.S. personnel returned.

Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters at the White House the administration was working to resolve the situation and was hopeful about it.

U.S. officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island, situated in the middle of the Persian Gulf. They say it stemmed from some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats, causing them to run aground. The troops were then picked up by Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who has forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif through three years of nuclear negotiations, called Zarif immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official...

This is a major slap in the face of the American people.

The sailors should be released within four hours, before the president's address tonight, or we know for a fact this is a hostile act.

Expect updates.

Chronicle of Higher Education Profiles the 'Monkey Cage'

It's the leading political science blog, founded by John Sides and the late Lee Sigelman, of George Washington University.

Here, "How the Monkey Cage Went Ape."

Of course, it's a cocooned far-left blog, although nevertheless interesting.

Model Paige Watkins Loves a Bikini Even When She's Not at Work (VIDEO)

At GQ, "Let Professional Model Paige Watkins Take You for a Swim in the Ocean."

And watch, "Model Paige Watkins Loves a Bikini."

Plus, she's not on Instagram!

Denying the Obvious About Islamist Terror

Following-up, "Philly Mayor Jim Kenney Says Jihadist Police Ambush Shooting 'Had Nothing to Do With Islam' (VIDEO)."

From Dorothy Rabinowitz, at the Wall Street Journal:

It required only half a minute for the mayor of Philadelphia, Democrat Jim Kenney, to achieve national fame. On Friday, an already sensation-crowded day, it fell to the mayor to take part in the official pronouncements on the attempted murder of city police officer Jesse Hartnett, shot and severely wounded as he sat in his patrol car when a would-be assassin emptied his gun at him—13 shots in all.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr., appointed just three days earlier, delivered the details with noteworthy eloquence: The wounded officer, bleeding heavily from three wounds, one arm useless, had gotten himself out of the car, chased the attacker and shot him.

The drama of this recital needed no amplification, but there it was anyway: Clear security video images showed the assailant in his flowing white dishdasha—a robe favored by Muslim men—running toward the patrol car, shooting, sticking his hand in the window, and racing speedily away. Pictures too of the police officer lurching out of the car to give chase.

The wounded shooter, Commissioner Ross revealed, told police after his capture that he had mounted the attack in the name of Islam, that he believes that “the police defend laws that are contrary to Islam.” The man apparently wanted to talk only about his devotion to Islam.

Undaunted by anything he’d heard so far, Mayor Kenny then came to the microphone and declared: “In no way, shape or form does anybody in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam” had anything to do with the attack. “This was a criminal with a stolen gun.”

Mr. Kenny’s tone was fervent. Out of this event—involving a murderous assault on a police officer, and a heroic response by that officer—the mayor, awash in excitation, had divined what was, for him, the most important concern of this day. Namely, persuading citizens that this attack had nothing to do with allegiance to Islam...

The mayor's no different from the president: disgusting PC commandos endangering American lives.

More.

Alabama Crimson Tide Wins College Football National Championship

At the Los Angeles Times, "Alabama defeats Clemson, 45-40, to win College Football Playoff title."

And at the Other McCain, "#RollTide: Alabama Crimson Tide Defeats Clemson 45-40 for National Title."

Alabama wins the #NationalChampionship, 45-40, over Clemson. https://t.co/o6Jkp7BfpK

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 12, 2016

https://t.co/0LwXX42bhF @rsmccain appreciates #RollTide defense #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/ZMMW6AEKBo

— Evi L. Bloggerlady (@MsEBL) January 12, 2016

Roll Tide Roll! @AlabamaFTBL YOUR 2015 National Champions! #RollTide #NationalChampionship #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/AWhJFOqNDu

— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) January 12, 2016

Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina Dumped from Next GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)

Rand Paul won't participate in the undercard, and will probably drop out of the race.

Watch, Greta Van Susteren interviews RNC Chair Reince Priebus:



And at Politico, via Memeorandum, "Paul, Fiorina excluded from main stage in Thursday's GOP debate."

Olivia Culpo Casting Call for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016

Nice:

Jackie Johnson's Tuesday Forecast

For the State of the Union, heh.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Rolling Stone Stirs Controversy with Sean Penn's Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán Interview

At USA Today, "'Rolling Stone' stirs controversy with drug lord interview":

There almost had to be something wrong with this picture: Rolling Stone magazine, still bruised from erroneous reporting about campus rape, scores an exclusive interview with escaped Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán.

The interview conducted by tough-guy actor Sean Penn and posted on the Rolling Stone website late Saturday fueled several journalistic misgivings. An editor's note said Guzmán was given right of refusal after reading a finished version, and some names had been changed. The magazine said Guzmán, who does not speak English, asked for no changes.

Ceding such control to Guzmán was professionally "inexcusable," wrote Reuters reporter Andrew Seaman, who chairs the ethics committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, in a blog Saturday night. The New York Post cited the same reason in labeling Penn "El Jerko."

Questions remain about whether the magazine's efforts to secure the interview in October helped law enforcement recapture the renowned prison escapee on Friday. An unnamed Mexican federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the Penn interview assisted its efforts.

Penn, in the article, makes clear he worked hard to avoid being noticed by police.

Other journalism analysts said the Guzmán interview was a bona fide exclusive or scoop — aside from the ethical issue of giving him the right to change the article — and could help restore the nearly 50-year-old magazine's tarnished image.

"Rolling Stone needed this story," said Samir Husni, professor at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the school. It was crucial for the magazine to show it remains a major player in journalism, he said.

"They are still a very relevant magazine doing such a great job that very few are actually doing," Husni said Sunday.

He said the decision allowing an actor to conduct the interview was a classic Rolling Stone mix of pop culture and journalism..

Keep reading.

Actually, I think this "good journalism" take is the minority position.

See Hadas Gold, "Rolling Stone has been just a whole study of journalism ethics these past couple years."

The Nation Launches Metered Paywall System, Abandoning Its Commitment to the Utopian Socialist Collective

Well, that whole #ResistCapitalism meme caused a laugh riot on Twitter, so I guess this is par for the course.

Old Man Marx must be spinning in his grave.

At the Nation, "Paying for Journalism That Matters": 

The only way to read everything The Nation publishes (including our 150-year digital archive) has always been to subscribe. Unlike most magazines that rely on advertising to pay their bills, The Nation depends upon the support of our readers and the generosity of our donors. But starting on January 11, 2016, we’re changing to a different model of accessing all of our content online. We think this new metered system will better allow people to read and share our most important work during critical moments (after all, we’re working to help build a movement here), while also asking our regular readers to chip in to support our journalism. Here’s how it will work...

In other words, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Somebody's gotta pay, heh.

Still more.

Actually, you'll notice they're still committed to the socialist collective, it's just that the people's collective of peasants and workers is going to have to pony-up to get there.

Ammon Bundy Removes Barbed-Wire Fence About Five Miles South of #Malheur Refuge Headquarters

It's just day-to-day now.

Not sure what destroying a fence is supposed to do, but it's being called the "boldest" move yet by the Bundy militiamen.

See the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff: Bundy, militants destroy fence at federal refuge."

Pair of New Republican Primary Polls Shows Donald Trump Surging to Lead in Iowa

I don't know.

Maybe Ted Cruz peaked early in the Hawkeye State. Or, voters there have been won over by Donald Trump's steady inroads on the campaign trail.

Either way, it's basically neck and neck now, with the polling results within the margin of error. One survey's from Quinnipiac, which is quite reputable. The other's out from the American Research Group, of which I'm less familiar. No matter, no doubt it's a merciless horse race right now in Iowa. Indeed, we're nearing the final stretch and it's exciting.

See, the Conservative Treehouse, "Two Iowa Polls Put Donald Trump Back On Top – Ted Cruz a Close Second."

PREVIOUSLY: "Latest Gravis Marketing National Poll Shows Donald Trump with Whopping Lead Over Ted Cruz."

Latest Gravis Marketing National Poll Shows Donald Trump with Whopping Lead Over Ted Cruz

Here's last month's survey, "Huge Lead for Donald Trump in New Gravis Marketing National Poll."

Interesting, but despite all the pundit chatter about Ted Cruz polling lead in the Iowa caucuses, he's made barely a dent in the real estate mogul's national standing.

See, "OANN Gravis Marketing national poll conducted over the weekend."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Under Fire After Muslim Rape Attacks in Cologne (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "New Year’s Eve Assaults Put Heat on Germany’s Angela Merkel":

COLOGNE, Germany—The aftershocks spreading from allegations of New Year’s Eve assaults by migrants in German cities have provoked the biggest challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel since she threw open Germany’s borders to refugees last summer.

On Sunday, German officials disclosed that the man French authorities say tried to attack a Paris police station in an Islamic State-inspired assault last week had been living at a German refugee shelter—adding more fuel to a debate that has exploded over the security threats tied to the arrival of more than 1 million asylum seekers in Germany over the past year.

Meanwhile, a growing number of people, largely women, have reported being robbed and sexually assaulted on New Year’s Eve by mobs of what many described as largely North African or Arab-looking men. In Cologne, where most of the assaults have been reported, police said 516 complaints had been filed by Sunday—40% of them for sexual offenses, including at least two rape allegations—and that many of the suspected attackers were migrants.

The assaults and fresh evidence of other security risks linked to migrants bring new difficulties to Ms. Merkel’s efforts to preserve her open-door refugee policy and get other European Union countries to agree on a common response to the migration crisis. The chancellor—Western Europe’s most influential political leader—has warned that without a united strategy, the EU’s cherished principle of open internal borders will fall.

At home and abroad, politicians skeptical of Ms. Merkel’s migrant policy pointed to the assaults as a turning point, casting the events as confirmation of their warnings of a violent culture clash resulting from the mass migration.

Conservative Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said the incidents “should shake up public opinion at last.” UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who advocates much stricter immigration policies and wants his country to leave the European Union, warned the events in Cologne were “not far removed from us” in Britain, adding, “Whilst these men may not have EU passports, they soon will.”

The German chancellor reacted to the public outrage over the assaults with what has become her trademark strategy after 10 years in power: She sought to channel the public mood without substantially changing course.

She used tough language after a meeting of senior party officials on Saturday, pledging to more aggressively deport migrants convicted of crimes. But she gave no indication that she would back away from her refusal to cap the number of refugees Germany accepts or from her insistence that Europe come up with a joint solution to the crisis.

Ms. Merkel described the New Year’s Eve assaults as “repugnant, criminal offenses” that required a decisive response. “When crimes are committed, and people place themselves outside the law then there must be consequences for asylum claims,” she said.

Whether this response will suffice to quell the public’s concerns is uncertain...

Actually, she's toast if you ask me. It's going to get worse before it gets better, and it's still a ways off until Germany's scheduled for federal elections. She could be forced to resign before then.

But keep reading.

Molly Crabapple Loves Pornography!

Following-up from last night, "Emma Quangel Doxed: Hardline Communist @EMQuangel on Twitter Outed as Taryn Fivek, Public Information Officer at International Organization for Migration."

Remember, this was an intra-leftist spat, and considering that Taryn Fivek's life is pretty much destroyed for the time being, perhaps Ms. Crabapple doesn't want to be reminded of her deeds.

Robert Stacy McCain took an interest to my post on Ms. Quangel (a.k.a. Ms. Fivek), and is researching the case. He tagged me along with Ms. Crabapple and BuzzFeed's Hayes Brown in a couple of tweets. I responded with more information on Ms. Quangel, and it turns out Ms. Crabapple blocked me.

That was quick, I thought.

So, Googling her it turns out that she not only likes porn but she tweets out her favorite pornography links. Now that's progressive!

If you like porn, Check this out for the beauty and hotness but also damn that is done sharp dialogue https://t.co/Ht5ReExsOk

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) August 19, 2015

Check back for more on all of this. Robert's digging up some stuff and he's expecting to publish a major entry soon enough.

Hillary Clinton's Political Director Calls Bernie Sanders 'Disappointing' for Criticizing Husband Bill's Sexual Predations (VIDEO)

Heh.

At Free Beacon.

Watch, "Hillary's political director: Sanders 'disappointing' for criticizing Bill Clinton's sexual conduct."

American Power Gets the Coveted Katie Pavlich Endorsement!

I was up early this morning, helping my son get ready so I could give him a ride to school.

Watching "American Newsroom," Martha MacCallum brought on Democrat Mary Anne Marsh to debate Katie Pavlich on Hillary's Clinton's personal war on women. It wasn't a fair fight. Ms. Pavlich destroyed Ms. Marsh. It was brutal.

I sent Ms. Pavlich a tweet and she shot back a kind thank you. So nice.

And watch the debate at the clip below.

Thanks! Keep up the great work @AmPowerBlog @FoxNews

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 11, 2016

Oh, she's the author of two books, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up, and Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women.

A great woman, super smart and beautiful.

Playboy Mansion Listed for $200 Million

Old Hef's winding down the empire.

I doubt he's going to go out with many regrets. What a life.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion lists for $200 million":

What does $200 million buy in Los Angeles these days? The Playboy Mansion, for one.

The legendary Holmby Hills estate where Hugh Hefner has worked and made his home for four decades is on the market for the nine-figure sum, making it among the priciest residential properties for sale in the United States.

As part of any sale, the 89-year-old Hefner will be allowed remain in residence for the remainder of his life, media reports said.

Among the major works of architect Arthur R. Kelly, the stone-clad Gothic Tudor-style mansion was built for department store scion Arthur Letts Jr. in 1927. Playboy acquired the estate of more than five acres in 1971 for around $1.1 million.

"At the time Hef and Playboy purchased the home, it was the largest real estate transaction in Los Angeles history," Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, said in a news release. Gold holds the listing with Drew Fenton, also of Hilton & Hyland, and Mauricio Umansky of The Agency.

Within nearly 20,000 square feet of interiors are 29 rooms including chef's and catering kitchens, a game room, a wine cellar and a screening room with a built-in pipe organ. The master suite occupies parts of two floors.

The mansion is also among a select number of L.A. properties to have a zoo license...

Heh.

A zoo license, roarrr!

Still more.

Behind the Scenes with Abigail Ratchford for Playboy (VIDEO)

Watch, via Playboy, "Abigail Ratchford and Playboy Swim Together behind the Scenes."

Playboy Magazine is dead ... Long Live Playboy!

Katy Perry at the Golden Globes

She's pretty amazing.

Daily Mail, "'I got my wig out and my globes': Katy Perry wears big hair and a VERY low-cut pink dress on red carpet."

Hey! @katyperry helping to get a #MoetMoment on the Red Carpet! pic.twitter.com/oP4NHAyjdl

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2016

Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes Puts 'The New Republic ' Up for Sale

The magazine was already dying when he bought it. Hughes basically readied the casket.

At the Wall Street Journal, "New Republic Owner Chris Hughes Puts Magazine Up for Sale." (Via Memeorandum.)

'Fast Times' Actor Has Courted Controversy

I'll always remember Sean Penn as "Jeff Spicoli," no matter what that dude does.

Here's more on him, at WSJ, "Sean Penn’s Interview With El Chapo Latest in Long History of Controversial Meetings":

Sean Penn shot to fame playing a high-school stoner who wanted to do anything but engage with the world.

Now, more than 30 years after his breakthrough role in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” the two-time Oscar winner is as well known for his off-screen political activism as he is for his intense on-screen performances.

Mr. Penn’s meeting with Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, revealed on Saturday, is the latest example of the 55-year-old actor inviting controversy by making high-profile visits with figures who are at odds with the U.S. government.

Mr. Penn’s interview with the drug kingpin follows the actor’s style of reporting—sparing no detail about the arrangements getting there or his emotional impressions of the man before him. “In what would be a seven-hour sit-down, I saw him without that smile only in brief flashes. As has been said of many notorious men, he has an indisputable charisma,” wrote Mr. Penn.

Over the past 20 years, Mr. Penn, with a mix of outrage and irreverence, has traveled to countries about to be attacked by the U.S., pledged support to Communist leaders who decry America and criticized the U.S. government for its handling of domestic affairs.

The “El Chapo” meeting, recounted by Mr. Penn in an article for Rolling Stone magazine, isn’t the first time the actor has taken on a provocative assignment for a publication.

In 2008, Mr. Penn recounted his meetings with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and Cuban president Raúl Castro for The Nation magazine.

Mr. Penn’s dispatches read like a travelogue sprinkled with diplomatic purpose; he writes of having mechanical difficulties on the plane ride there and then of asking Mr. Castro if he’d be willing to meet with President Obama.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Penn said Sunday the actor wasn’t commenting at this time...

A classic Hollywood useful idiot.

Still more, FWIW.

Emma Quangel Doxed: Hardline Communist @EMQuangel on Twitter Outed as Taryn Fivek, Public Information Officer at International Organization for Migration

I've known for a few weeks that Emma Quangel was really Taryn Fivek. A reader emailed me with the following information:

Her parents are Clark Fivek and Marcia Ladendorff.

Her mom, Marcia Ladendorff, was one of CNN's first anchors when the cable network launched.  She was also the top anchor at WTLV-12 First Coast News in Jacksonville, before semi-retiring as a professor and media personality working at the University of North Florida.  Her dad owns a company.

The parents are divorced and BOTH are likely multi-millionaires who live very comfortable lives.

Communist Taryn Fivek (aka Emma Quangel) is an American-born, pampered TRUST FUND BABY.

Her dad, a successful businessman who lives in the upscale suburban town of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL clearly doesn't appreciate Taryn's conversion to communism:

Of course, the reader sent corresponding links and I Googled a little myself and it all checked out. And that was that. She was still tweeting at the time, and I've had enough of the Internet flame wars to last me for awhile. Besides, she wasn't mean or anything.

In any case, she was definitely hardline communist and was pretty familiar with a lot of the literature, as evidenced by her blog, Manyfesto. Both the blog and her Twitter page have been taken down.

It turns out that BuzzFeed doxed her after she sent out a batch of rather deranged tweets denying news of the recent starvation in Syria. See, "An Aid Worker is Being Accused of Owning a Twitter Account That Denies People Are Starving in Syria."

Remember, according to someone like this, Third World dictators like Bashir al-Assad can never be culpable for the poverty, misery, and obliteration of their own people. It's always the West's fault. That's one of the reasons I blogged about this woman a few times. Her Twitter feed was a veritable treasure trove of the most deranged Stalinist ravings you'd find. See, "Far-Left 'Anti-Racist' Says the United States Should be 'Eradicated'," and "Emma Quangel, Feminist Who Outed Dylann Roof Manifesto, is Militant Communist Who Wants U.S. 'Eradicated'."

There was some chatter on Twitter directed at me this last couple of days, no doubt from folks who found my posts on Google.

Go back and check out that BuzzFeed piece. This woman was getting progressively worse as her online activism gained traction. And it turns out another far-left activist, Molly Crabapple, doxed Quangel on Twitter:

This woman, Taryn Fivek, is a current press officer at the UN (@IOMatUN) while denying the starvation of Madaya pic.twitter.com/oMUYdTl94r

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

While working for the United Nations as a press officer, Taryn Fivek cheered Russian bombing of Syrians pic.twitter.com/cuvlJD6Rmk

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

Why does a United Nations press officer excuse Hezbollah's starvation of #Madaya? pic.twitter.com/dQsd3FrRSi

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

UN press officer Taryn Fivek cheers Russian bombings of Syria, denies starvation of #madaya https://t.co/zNYpIeWVdh pic.twitter.com/ylfmb9uGo5

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

. @IOMatUN press officer Taryn Fivek also wrote that James Foley's murder was maybe faked https://t.co/sS6P6vqJgz

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

Pt# Taryn Fivek down her social media after being asked for comment on her opinions on the Madaya siege https://t.co/2SMNv2YA1f

— Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) January 8, 2016

Frankly, Quangel wasn't all that good at being anonymous. The Manyfesto blog actually linked to her LinkedIn account, now deleted as well.

Still more on Twitter:

Taryn Fivek was a "leader" of something called FIST, "Fight Imperialism, Stand Together" https://t.co/z46Ue8yRnw pic.twitter.com/w7Gka4sOYd

— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) January 10, 2016

And she worked for a U.N.-aligned NGO. Let that sink in for a minute.

Germany on the Brink

Ross Douthat doesn't disappoint with this commentary, at the New York Times:

If you believe that an aging, secularized, heretofore-mostly-homogeneous society is likely to peacefully absorb a migration of that size and scale of cultural difference, then you have a bright future as a spokesman for the current German government.

You’re also a fool. Such a transformation promises increasing polarization among natives and new arrivals alike. It threatens not just a spike in terrorism but a rebirth of 1930s-style political violence. The still-imaginary France Michel Houellebecq conjured up in his novel “Submission,” in which nativists and Islamists brawl in the streets, would have a very good chance of being realized in the German future...

RTWT.

Hat Tip: Instapundit.

#GoldenGlobes and Popular Culture

Larry Elder summed up our popular culture at the start of tonight's Golden Globes awards show:

Are there any roles left for men who are not gay, transsexual, transgender, transvestite, cross dressers, bi-sexual or unsure? #GoldenGlobes.

Kohl’s Stores Considers Going Private or Breaking Up

Well, this is interesting.

I shop Kohl's a lot, as does my wife.

At WSJ, "Kohl’s Weighs Next Steps as Woes Mount":

Department stores have been under siege for decades, but lately their fortunes have hit a new low that could spark a wave of deal making that could sweep up companies such as Kohl’s Corp.

Shoppers are flocking to newer types of stores that sell similar brands at deep discounts and buying more online, leaving behind cavernous stores that are difficult to fill productively. Investors, too, are abandoning the companies. Shares of major department-store chains fell nearly 37% last year, while the overall S&P 500 Index fell just 0.7%.

The troubles are prompting some soul searching at these decades-old businesses. With sales shrinking, Sears Holdings Corp. has been selling off stores to raise cash. Macy’s Inc. is talking with real-estate developers to take over space in its flagship locations and other stores.

Kohl’s, a national department-store chain with roughly 1,200 stores, is debating whether to pursue more drastic action, such as taking itself private or breaking up the company, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Once among the fastest-growing retailers, the Menomonee Falls, Wisc.-based retailer has stumbled in recent years. Despite improvements that include recent sales gains at existing stores, its shares are down 40% from their high of $79.07 on April 2. It ended Friday with a market value of $9 billion, or roughly half its expected annual sales for the current fiscal year.

Concerned that its depressed share price could make it a target for activist investors, directors are considering whether to hire an investment bank to advise it on alternatives that could include a sale to a private-equity firm, the person familiar with the situation said.

The discussions are preliminary and directors might opt not to explore such a strategy. Kohl’s top executives are open to the strategic review and the board is expected to discuss the company’s multiple options further this week,  the person continued. A sale to a private-equity firm is an idea that management has rejected in the past despite interest from such firms, people familiar with the situation said. Kohl’s declined to comment...

Hmm... Wouldn't want activist investors to launch a power grab, heh.

More.

Fire Consumes Jerusalem Offices of Far-Left Anti-Israel Group B’Tselem (VIDEO

Well, if it truly was a right-wing arson attack then that's terrible.

Israel's far-right is screwing up these days. Sheesh. (See, "Israel's Homegrown Enemies.")

At the Jerusalem Post, "Arson suspected in fire at offices of left-wing NGO B'Tselem."

And at the radical +972, "Amid right-wing attacks, suspected arson at B'Tselem offices":

Headquarters of Israel’s oldest human rights organization sustain heavy damage. Spokesperson says if fire turns out to be arson, ‘it must be seen in the context of the wave of government incitement and smear campaigns against Israel’s human rights groups, and B’Tselem in particular.’

There's video here, "Suspected arson at B'Tselem offices in Jerusalem."

I blogged about this awful group previously. Still, I wouldn't wish an arson fire on them.

Here, "B'Tselem: The World's Most Destructive Anti-Israel Organization."

Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz (R) Visits Bundy Millitiamen at #Malheur National Wildlife Reserve (VIDEO)

Following-up from previously, "Pacific Patriot Network Opposes #Malheur Occupation, Issues Call for Peaceful Resolution of Standoff (VIDEO)."

Now, at the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff: Roseburg state legislator ignores local warnings, visits protesters."

Heh, the dude took a posse of officials with him, which I don't think was a bad idea. Better to talk it out than shoot it out.

Emmy Rossum at the #GoldenGlobes

She's sweet.

Check out @emmyrossum's amazinf diamonds. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/VxK16Ous90

— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) January 10, 2016

Here's That Wild Martavis Bryant Flip Catch Touchdown (VIDEO)

I almost posted this yesterday.

It was miraculous.

Watch, via the NFL, "Martavis Bryant is Out of His Flipping Mind for This TD."

Kristen Soltis Anderson on How Candidates Try to Reach Millennials Through Social Media (VIDEO)

She has a book out I've been meaning to get, The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up).

And here she is, on Fox News, "Candidates try to win over millennials through social media."

Mexican Actress Kate del Castillo Brokered Interview Deal for Sean Penn

Well, the tabloids had to go and find the clickbait celebrity angle.

And London's Daily Mail, "El Chapo's moll: How trusted Mexican actress Kate del Castillo brokered deal for Sean Penn to interview cartel boss... But ultimately proved his femme fatale."

And at LAT:

Actress Kate Del Castillo urged 'El Chapo' to use his power for good, brokered meeting with Sean Penn https://t.co/9cGSJzsL4q

— L.A. Times World (@latimesworld) January 10, 2016

Beth Baumann Likes the Packers!

Heh.

Just now on Twitter:

@AmPowerBlog NO

— Beth Baumann (@eb454) January 10, 2016

And Ms. Beth a little while ago, lol:

Here we go, @packers!! #GoPackGo #GBvsWAS pic.twitter.com/vLbt9tFw0S

— Beth Baumann (@eb454) January 10, 2016

This girl got game!

Emily Ratajkowski Posts Bikini Selfies as She Vacations in Thailand

On Twitter:

Chillin pic.twitter.com/toY5NhNcm8

— Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) January 6, 2016

Hat Tip: London's Daily Mail, "Island girl Emily Ratajkowski goes topless with lei and strikes model poses in bikini as she vacations at Thai beach resort."

Lena Dunham to Campaign for Hillary Clinton in Iowa

Maybe she'll take her clothes off.

At USA Today, "Lena Dunham to campaign for Hillary Clinton in Iowa."

And at Twitchy, "Lena Dunham tears up thinking of ‘horrific gendered attacks’ against Hillary Clinton."

Oh brother.

Cruz Leads Trump in Iowa 28-to-24 Percent, Latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll Finds

The Wall Street Journal's write-up is behind the paywall (see Memeorandum).

But Marist, who did the survey, has a summary at their homepage, "Cruz and Trump Vie in IA, Trump NH Favorite… Clinton and Sanders Competitive":

With just weeks to go until the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, 28%, edges businessman Donald Trump, 24%, among likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, 13%, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 11%, are vying for the “third ticket” out of Iowa. In New Hampshire, Trump, 30%, outdistances Rubio, 14%, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, 12%, among likely Republican primary voters statewide including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, 10%, Ohio Governor John Kasich, 9%, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, 9%, follow.

Keep reading.

Jeb and Kasich are both at 9 percent, which is almost three points lower for each when compared to the NH1 poll also out this week, "NH1 News Poll Shows Jeb Bush Battling John Kasich for 2nd Place; Donald Trump Holds Lead at 31.7 Percent."

In both polls, though, Donald Trump is far and away the Granite State frontrunner.

In any case, more at NBC News, "Poll: Neck-and-Neck 2016 Races in Iowa, New Hampshire." Hillary's up 48-45 percent in Iowa, which is within the margin of error (and should be freaking out the Clinton campaign, either way.)

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES," and Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Round Up..."

Cartoon Credit: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Obama Cares."

Judge Jeanine Pirro Slams Philadelphia Democrat Mayor Jim Kenney! (VIDEO)

Well, this Democrat scum's comments were criminal.

Here, "Philly Mayor Jim Kenney Says Jihadist Police Ambush Shooting 'Had Nothing to Do With Islam' (VIDEO)."


Judge Jeanine hammers this PC POS:

Arthur Laffer Predicts Republicans Will Win the White House in Landslide

Yes, but did he do it on the back of cocktail napkin?

At the Hill:

Economist says GOP could win 47 states in November: "We’re going to landslide" https://t.co/jWijnF6rS6 pic.twitter.com/juwJzE8YbP

— The Hill (@thehill) January 10, 2016

Majorities Say Obama Has Failed on Every Measure

I noticed this when I was scrolling through the raw internals yesterday.

See, "Donald Trump Beats Hillary Clinton in General Election Match-Up, 47-44 Percent (VIDEO)."

More at Fox News:

Fox poll shows 59% of men & 56% of women say Obama Admin. has mostly failed on making the country safer. @ANHQDC pic.twitter.com/hkXCBIF5Fa

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 10, 2016

Kristen Keogh's Got Your Sunday Forecast

Well, it's not -6 ºF, like it is in Minnesota for the start of the NFC Wild Card round, heh.

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Conservative Ideology and the #Malheur Wildlife Reserve Occupation (VIDEO)

From Alan Feuer, at the New York Times, "The Ideological Roots of the Oregon Standoff":

IT is tempting to dismiss the antigovernment gunmen who took control of an animal refuge in Oregon on Jan. 2 as fanatics working at the fringes of American politics. But if the methods used by the rancher Ammon Bundy to seize the federal property were radical, the ideological roots of the operation were somewhat more mainstream.

By storming the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and vowing to return it — by force of arms, if necessary — to the people of Harney County, Mr. Bundy and his men were echoing the teachings, if not the tactics, of the Wise Use movement: a conservative land-use doctrine that has been a part of the national discourse for nearly 30 years.

A successor to the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s (itself a successor to the anti-national parks Boomers project of the early 1900s), Wise Use answers the question of who should own the West by granting moral primacy to natural resource companies and to logging and ranching families like the Bundys, some of which have worked the land since the pioneer expansion.

Though composed of many activists and scores of organizations, Wise Use found its voice in the late 1980s when a timber industry adviser named Ron Arnold published “The Wise Use Agenda.” The manifesto offered an expansive plan to gut environmental regulation, increase private ownership of public land and compel the federal government to open its holdings to mining, oil and logging companies and to the unrestricted use of off-road vehicles.

Mr. Arnold adopted the phrase “wise use” from Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the United States Forest Service (who said that “conservation is the wise use of resources”). In 1988 he held a conference, bringing together the likes of Exxon and the National Cattlemen’s Association, with the goal of seeding the West with grass-roots groups that could wrest control of federal land and give a local flavor to his Reaganite aims.

“Arnold sent organizers into distressed rural communities to set up front groups with environmentally friendly sounding names that whipped up hostility against the government,” said Tarso Ramos, the executive director of Political Research Associates, a research group that studies right-wing movements. What resulted, Mr. Ramos said, was a “coalition of natural-resource companies, property developers and conservative activists working with a network of community organizations.”

This coalition achieved success in pushing its agenda. By the early 1990s, politicians friendly to the Wise Use cause had introduced or passed legislation in nearly 30 states giving local governments and citizens expanded powers to lay claim to federal land. Among those politicians was Representative Helen Chenoweth-Hage, an Idaho Republican, who became notorious for mocking the Endangered Species Act by holding what she called “endangered salmon bakes.” There was also Gale A. Norton, the interior secretary under President George W. Bush, who once worked as a lawyer for the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has billed itself as “the litigation arm of Wise Use.”

“The Wise Use crowd got very close to the centers of power,” Mr. Ramos said...

Still more.

Previous Malheur blogging is here.

Is Ted Cruz a 'Natural Born Citizen'? (VIDEO)

Personally, I think this whole Ted Cruz birther issue is just stupid.



In just a couple of days the MSM's spent more time on it than on Obama's eligibility, at least from the point of view of critical vs. sympathetic analysis. (Nothing shall derail the political momentum of Democrat candidates.)

Breitbart dredged up Cruz's mom's birth certificate, so that's not in question, while Obama never actually released his long-form birth certificate, only a printout of "certification of live birth" from the county government offices there in Hawaii. (A real birth certificate includes medical information, full legal name at time of birth, doctors' signatures and all that --- none of which was included on the county printout.)

Here's the Bretibart piece, via Memeorandum, "Exclusive: Birth Certificate for Ted Cruz's Mother." I have no idea if it's actually authenticated, but I haven't seen anyone claiming Cruz's mom wasn't born in the U.S. Or at least not yet.

Professor Thomas Lee, of Fordham Law School, provides a high-brow scholarly analysis, at the Los Angeles Times, "Is Ted Cruz a 'natural born Citizen'? Not if you're a constitutional originalist."

Perhaps, but then the Supreme Court makes the final decision on these issues. I expect the law's settled enough nowadays to show that one American-citizen parent is enough to constitute presidential eligibility for the children.

More video at CNN, "Sen. Ted Cruz on State of the Union: Part 1," and "Sen. Ted Cruz on State of the Union: Part 2."

Video of 'Heavily Armed Security Detail' at the #Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

The Idaho "3 Percenters" and the Pacific Patriots Network are pretty much one and the same, with the latter being the umbrella organization for the diverse local militias.

Following-up from this early this morning, "Pacific Patriot Network Opposes #Malheur Occupation, Issues Call for Peaceful Resolution of Standoff (VIDEO)." (Linked by Ed Driscoll at Instapundit. Thanks!)

And here's the dramatic video from KOIN News 6 in Portland:

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Take Different Paths to Iowa Voters

Cruz camps out. Trump swoops in.

At the Los Angeles Times:

Donald Trump launched his TV advertising just after New Year's with his familiar swagger: He was so far ahead in the polls that it might be a waste, he said, but he felt guilty for not spending his money.

The reality was more sobering.

After six months of branding opponents and critics as losers, Trump faces the threat of becoming one himself in Iowa, the first state to hold a Republican presidential nominating contest. The ads are a crucial part of Trump's strategy to keep Ted Cruz from beating him in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.

Cruz's appeals to evangelicals, tea party followers and other conservatives have made the Texas senator the current favorite in Iowa, though the New York billionaire remains a solid front-runner in the rest of the country.

Cruz's surge in Iowa is jeopardizing Trump's quest to "run the table" by winning every GOP primary and caucus nationwide.

The two are taking sharply contrasting approaches to Iowa. Trump has darted in for occasional rallies before huge crowds, relying on TV news coverage to reach Iowans. He typically spends a few hours in the state, then returns to New York in his private jet. Trump's rallies Saturday afternoon in Ottumwa and Clear Lake came after an 11-day absence from Iowa.

Cruz has devoted far more time and resources to the state, following the playbook of previous Iowa caucus winners Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum...

More.

Los Angeles Homeless Woman 'died without a tent, rain-soaked and wrapped in a wet blanket on a piece of plastic...'

Now this is just sad.

Apparently the police can't force people off the street, even if they're not in their right mind. The woman was offered shelter from homeless advocates and she refused.

At LAT, "Homeless woman died of exposure on skid row sidewalk during El Niño storm."

ADDED: L.A.'s a Democrat city. Just think about that for a minute.