Thursday, September 8, 2016

Mao Zedong Died Forty Years Ago; China Still Stuggles With His Monstrous Legacy

I don't like Mao.

Ten of millions died under his regime, perhaps more than 65 million people altogether

I shudder at how leftists insist China --- not to mention the Soviet Union --- wasn't really "communist." So-called "actually existing socialism" perverted and abandoned true communism (basically, utopian Marxism was never really tried), or so they say.

That's all lies. Monstrous lies, from the monstrous left.

In any case, from Sergey Radchenko, at Foreign Policy, "Mao the Man, Mao the God":
Mao Zedong was dying a slow, agonizing death. Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in July 1974, he gradually lost control of his motor functions. His gait was unsure. He slurred his speech and panted heavily. The decline was precipitous. In 1956 Mao, then 62 years old, predicted he’d live until year 2000 before going up “to see Marx in Heaven.” In 1966 the septuagenarian swam in the murky waters of the Yangtze River to demonstrate his strength and vitality. But by 1976, on the 27th and final year of his reign, the “Great Helmsman” could breathe only when lying on his side, surrounded by doctors and nurses.

In his final months, Mao rarely received visitors. One of the last foreigners to see him alive was New Zealand’s Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, on April 30, 1976. The record of their conversation comes from New Zealand’s archives, and has just been published for the first time.

Before he was allowed to see the Chairman, his Chinese hosts asked Muldoon to be gentle with his handshake. According to Muldoon’s record, Mao “was assisted, almost lifted, from his armchair to a standing position,” to shake hands with him and his party only to “slump back in it in a state of seeming collapse.”

“What emerged from Mao’s mouth,” the record continues – “were occasional grunts and groans as he struggled to get out the necessary word. The interpreter/nurse, intelligent and gentle, would decipher these noises – sometimes seeming to peer into his larynx – and decipher them (presumably in Mandarin) to a male interpreter who put them into polished, often colloquial, English.” It was a sorry and shocking sight, and a poignant reminder of the horrific consequences of a man’s failure to part with political power.

Just days after meeting Muldoon, Mao suffered a heart attack, then one more in June, then again in early September. He died on September 9, at the age of 82.

It took years for Beijing to walk back the deification of the People’s Republic founding leader – to show that he was in fact “Man, Not God,” as the English language title of a Mao biography written by the leader’s former chief of bodyguards has it.

But the Chinese, and Mao himself, could be almost forgiven for thinking otherwise – especially during Mao’s last decade.

“Long live Chairman Mao! Love live Chairman Mao Zedong! Long, long live Chairman Mao!” Adulating worshippers crowded Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, hoping for a glimpse of Mao’s friendly and imperious face. By launching the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Mao wanted to tap into the Chinese people’s enthusiasm for him to feed the fading vigor of Communist revolution and to transform the ruling Chinese Communist Party – which he felt had grown rotten on the inside.

The Cultural Revolution upended China, causing chaos and misery. The mob ruled the streets in a hysterical orgy of violence. Hundreds of thousands were killed or driven to suicide, among them China’s president and Mao’s rival Liu Shaoqi, who died in prison in 1969. Mao delighted in the storm he unleashed. “All under the heaven is great chaos,” he told an Australian Communist visitor in 1968, linking unrest in China with student demonstrations in Europe and in the United States. China, Mao felt, was at the center of a new global revolution.

But it did not take long before Mao’s delight turned to disillusionment. In 1969 he called on the army to restore a semblance of order, appointing Minister of Defense Lin Biao as his heir-apparent. But Lin Biao, too, disappointed Mao. In 1971 he fled north after the uncovering of his son’s plot to assassinate Mao. Lin never made it: his plane crashed in Mongolia.

Aware of unleashing a chaos that he was no longer able to control, and fearful of Soviet invasion, Mao turned to the United States...
Still more.

And if you haven't yet, pick up your copy of The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression.

In other words, get the full story.

Shop Today

Hey, if you're doing any shopping online today, clicking through at my Amazon links is always appreciated.

I'm teaching all day. More blogging tonight and over the weekend.

Meanwhile, shop for books or whatnot.

Shop Kitchen & Housewares.

Also, Game Day Entertainment and Dining.

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'Paint It Black'

The Sound L.A. axed "Mark in the Morning" last month.

At the O.C. Register, "Mark Thompson announces an emotional goodbye from Southern California morning radio."

The funny thing is, I was just starting to get used to the show. I know, I complained about not having enough music in the morning, but you get used to the shtick. Mark Thompson put on a pretty good gig.

In any case, the station decided to get back to more rock and roll, around the clock. Now Andy Chanley's on for the morning drive-time, with Gina Grad.

In any case, here's the Rolling Stone's from Tuesday, "Paint it Black":

Carry On Wayward Son
Kansas
7:17 AM

Barracuda
Heart
7:05 AM

Paint It Black
The Rolling Stones
7:01 AM

The Boys of Summer
Don Henley
6:55 AM

Cinnamon Girl
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
6:52 AM

Low Rider
War
6:39 AM

Panama
Van Halen
6:35 AM

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
B.O.C.
6:22 AM

Proud Mary
Creedence Clearwater Revival
6:19 AM

Brass In Pocket
Pretenders
6:08 AM

Stand Back
Stevie Nicks
6:03 AM

Racist Denmark

Remember my post from February, "Rotten in Denmark: 'Growing domestic consensus that large-scale Muslim immigration is incompatible with European social democracy...'"?

Well, things are still pretty rotten over there, and racist, apparently. Or at least the Danish have abandoned any pretense of political correctness, instead calling out the massive influx of Islamic refugees as an existential threat to Danish society and culture.

This is a really blunt expose, at NYT:


Kelly Gale Playboy Miss September (VIDEO)

Following-up from a few weeks back, "Kelly Gale Playboy September Cover Model (PHOTOS)."


An Emerging Alliance Between Neocons and Hillary?

From Paul Gottfried, at FrontPage Magazine, "THE HYSTERICAL LEFT AND THE REST OF US":
Last week in Commentary, neocon publicist Noah Rothman brazenly or stupidly denied the obvious. Having learned that Hillary Clinton, in a speech before the American Foreign Legion, trotted out such phrases as “America the indispensable nation” and “American the exceptional nation,” Rothman attributes the belief that the Democratic candidate is a “closet neo-conservative” to the “hysterical left.” Rothman assails a nutcase Left for what may be self-evident to the rest of us: “It is in Clinton’s implicit admission that the next president must begin the work of repairing the damage done to geopolitical stability and American preeminence by Barack Obama that has them in a tizzy. But that’s not neoconservatism; it’s not even ideological. It is simply reality.” Further: “The left isn’t just furious at Clinton for failing to denounce her neo-conservative endorsers; they’re aggravated by the fact that she’s undermining Barack Obama’s legacy.”

The Left may have discerned a very real connection between Hillary and her “neo-conservative endorsers.” These endorsers come in two kinds: the outright toadies like Max Boot and Robert Kagan who have jumped aboard the Hillary express; and those “conservative” publicists like Erick Erickson, Kevin Williamson, Bill Kristol, George Will and Jonah Goldberg who are doing everything humanly possible to blacken the reputation and political viability of Hillary’s opponent, without explicitly declaring for Shrillery. It is also totally disingenuous to ascribe the obvious conclusion entirely to critics on the Left. The Right that is supporting Trump has assumed the same thing as “the hysterical left” about the neocons’ extremely cozy relation to Hillary.

Rothman engages in more mystification when he tells us that Hillary is embracing “reality” when she sounds like a neocon, without really being one.  But Rothman’s “simply reality” is profoundly “ideological,” his denials not to the contrary, and he asserts, even more misleadingly, that what he represents is a “conservative foreign policy.” Rothman’s “conservative foreign policy” means of course a neoconservative one, of the kind we encounter in explicitly neoconservative publications. But most Americans who view themselves as being on the Right might have second thoughts about Rothman’s “conservative” policy.

They might believe like Trump that we should destroy ISIS and stand by proven allies but unlike Commentary, Weekly Standard and the National Endowment for Democracy, these Americans whom Rothman pretends don’t exist are not interested in nation-building or exporting the present version of American liberal democracy to the far flung corners of the globe. Trump wins the support of such people because he seems to be reviving a realistic foreign policy (although I wish he would articulate it more consistently). There is nothing even vaguely “conservative” about what the neoconservatives intend to do internationally. Nor can I find anything that distinguishes them from Hillary on social policy. Whether the subject is immigration, gay marriage, or the rest of the LGBT agenda, neoconservative publicists stand with the Democrats or are at least delighted to accommodate them. Even more importantly, they don’t give a damn what kind of wackos President Clinton would appoint to federal courts.

Lest I be accused of painting with overly broad strokes, I should point out that some public figures long associated with the neocons have disengaged and are now enthusiastically backing Trump. Presumably these erstwhile friends of the neoconservatives, including Bill Bennett, John Bolton, Rudolph Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and David Horowitz, have ceased to be “conservatives” in the way in which the neocons would apply that term. That designation is now reserved for the Never-Trumpers and Hillary’s neocon advisers.  This may be a dishonest move but it’s also a daring one. Given their vast media resources and relatively cordial relations with the liberal Left, especially since they’ve begun to work directly or indirectly for Hillary, neoconservatives who are fighting Trump or have declared for the Democratic candidate may still be able to shape the “conservative” public conversation. In the 1980s the founding generation of neoconservatives managed to occupy the establishment Right and to neutralize opposition on the Right. In the end, they used their extensive media and philanthropic contacts to become the most powerful force in the conservative movement.

But this success may be hard to match in the present circumstances. For one thing, as the commentator David Goldman (Spengler) has observed, the parents of John Podhoretz and Bill Kristol were much more talented, resourceful leaders than those who are now running the family business. Bill Kristol “makes the mistake of thinking that he still matters.” He heads a movement that engages “in cultish self-adoration” and which has been consistently foolish in its statements about foreign policy, especially when young Kristol compared the disastrous Arab spring to the American founding. Spengler also expresses disapproval for the infantile fashion in which the neoconservatives have “crushed dissent ruthlessly and declared anathema upon anyone who questioned them,” or at least on anyone on the Right who questions their doctrinal authority.

The neocon second generation are also hemorrhaging what is left of their older advocates, much of whom have defected to Trump and the populist Right. These older allies have been among the more prominent and more articulate representatives of their side; and what is left of the neocon camp is now being led by self-absorbed mediocrities, who, as Spengler notes, inherited the status they never worked for and for which they lack serious qualifications. Others in their camp may find it hard to pretend to be “conservatives,” except for being associated with a neoconservative foreign policy that is in no way conservative. Despite all their media and philanthropic assets, the minicons are not working from the same strength as those who set up their movement and brought it to power.

In fact these clumsy operators are setting the stage for a new alliance on Right that may eventually sideline them. This front is slowly taking shape around Trump’s campaign; and whether or not he wins, a Right that stands in opposition to the second generation of neoconservatives is already emerging. In all likelihood this movement will be far more successful in gaining influence and media accessibility than was the Old Right of the 1990s, of which I was a frustrated part. Although purges have been a constant aspect of the conservative establishment, particularly since the neocons took it over in the late 1980s, this ostracizing process may not work anymore against the critics of Jonah, Noah, Rich and Erick. The personalities on the other side may be too prominent to be simply purged or denied the use of the “conservative” label. Some things do change; and unfortunately for Commentary, this may be one of them.
Actually, Commentary remains my favorite magazine on the conservative right. It's just that I'm waiting for this electoral season to blow over, and hopefully for things to get more back to normal. Of course, if Trump wins things may never be normal again on the right, but I won't worry too much about it: the Democrat-left will be out of power by then.

And by the way, I think I align with the older neocons, especially Norman Podhoretz, who is awesome. Frankly, I don't care much for John Podhoretz or Bill Kristol, the latter whom especially seems to have lost his marbles.

Hat Tip: Blazing Cat Fur.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

'Medical Humanities in the Digital Age' at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

After reading this piece at the College Fix, "Professors tell students: Drop class if you dispute man-made climate change," I sent the following email to the instructors of the course, as well as the university administration:
Hello Chancellor Shockley-Zalabak:

According to an article at the College Fix, your campus will offer an online course called "Medical Humanities in the Digital Age" for the fall semester.

Apparently, the faculty members leading the course have sent enrolled students an email indicating, "The point of departure for this course is based on the scientific premise that human induced climate change is valid and occurring. We will not, at any time, debate the science of climate change, nor will the ‘other side’ of the climate change debate be taught or discussed in this course..."

The email goes on to tell enrolled students to, essentially, GTFO if you don't agree with the ideological agenda of this course.

This is an absolutely pathetic case of all the worst of institutional progressivism in American academe. For the record, the science of anthropomorphic global warming is not settled. In fact, the idea that "97 percent of scientists" agree with the hypothesis of man-made climate change is nothing more than an urban legend. The earth's climate has been changing for millions of years. We're currently in a long warming period that began in the 19th century. The question of humanity's carbon consumption contributing to changes in the global climate remains a matter of scientific investigation.

Moreover, to suggest, in a university course, that there should be no debate on a topic of great public interest and import is in fact the epitome of anti-science and irrationalism. Such statements of refusal to consider opposing ideas, much less to answer questions or concerns of skeptics, is the height of intolerance and anti-intellectualism.

I hope that you and your administration will think long and hard about the reputation that is accruing to your institution in light of the news of this course offering. No self-respecting scientist or scholar would dare be associated with such close-minded snobbery. I further hope that you and your administration are taking appropriate steps to remedy this shameful episode, and to restore the integrity of your school's standing as an institution of higher learning.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Donald Kent Douglas, Ph.D.
Irvine, California
Please join me in sharing your thoughts with the course instructors and the administration. The university's home page is here.

More, from Anthony Watts, "Intolerance by the Climate Thought Police at University of Colorado."

Deal of the Day: FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System

At Amazon, FoodSaver 4840 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System with Bonus Built-in Retractable Handheld Sealer, Starter Kit, Heat-Seal and Zipper Bags.

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And, Save Up to 20% on Books.

BONUS: James McBride, Kill 'em and Leave : Searching for James Brown and the American Soul.

Hannah Ferguson, Samantha Hoopes, and Barbara Palvin in Strongman Competition (VIDEO)

Making sure readers get their babe-blogging fill for the day, heh.

Via Sports Illustrated:


Efforts to End Death Row in California

I've got to bone up on this. We've got two competing voter initiatives on the November ballot.

At LAT, "On death row, the effort to end the state's death penalty stirs both anxiety and apathy."

Wednesday Mini-Roundup

At Maggie's Farm, "Wednesday morning links."

Sabine photo BTBMbP-CYAEjXyi_zps75022ab3.jpg
And Egotastic!, "Hotter Than Hot: Miranda Kerr (VIDEO)."

Also, at the Other McCain, "Update From The Patriarchy™."

At Instapundit, "CHAOS UMPIRE RULES: Colleges Respond to Racial Tensions By Making Them Worse."

More, from Director Blue, "Larwyn's Linx: This Is Why You Don't See Hillary Much; This is the Flight 93 Election."

At S & L, "After Ten Years, Sweetness & Light Is Taking ‘A Hiatus’."

Sultan Knish, "Obama's Crime Against the Victims of ISIS."

At American Digest, "Fire on The Ridge: Even If You Live in Paradise It Can Quickly Become Hell."

Theo's, "Radical Islam in Decline?"

BONUS: At BCF, "BREAKING: Police Attacked By Knifeman In Terror-Hit Brussels Suburb."

PHOTO: Sabine Jemeljanova.

Reading Exodus

I read this book 30 years ago, but I picked up an old paperback copy while out used-bookstore shopping over the Labor Day weekend.

I'm already well into it.

At Amazon, Leon Uris, Exodus.

I love reading old-fashioned paperback books. I never go anywhere without a book.

Summer Never Ends

The "Bikini a Day" ladies, Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman:


Ms. EBL Posting Pokies

Heh.

Ms. EBL liked my post from the other day, "Alessandra Ambrosio In Beverly Hills."

See, "There is a slight chill in the air..."

And you gotta love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley:




Alex Jones Remembers Phyllis Schlafly (VIDEO)

Following-up from Monday, "Phyllis Schlafly Has Died."

At InfoWars:


Zika Spraying in Florida (VIDEO)

At CBS This Morning:





Poll Vaulting: The Spurious Rise and Fall in College Football Rankings

I tweeted yesterday, A.P.'s college football rankings:


And this morning, at LAT. I'm surprised how much some of these rankings shifted:


ITT Technical Institute Shuts Down Operations at More Than 130 Campuses Nationwide

Uncle Sam pulled its federal student loans, and with the spigot gone dry, ITT went belly up.

Is there a better example of the federal student loan racket?

At LAT, "ITT Tech shuts down all its schools; one student says he's 'angry times 10 million'."

Glenn Greenwald: Leftist Media Protect Hillary Clinton (VIDEO)

I don't love Greenwald, although at least he's consistent.

At the Intercept, "The Unrelenting Pundit-Led Effort to Delegitimize All Negative Reporting About Hillary Clinton."




Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Jackie Johnson's Beautiful September Forecast

Well, it was absolutely perfect weather today.

I love this time of year.

Here's Ms. Jackie, via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Fox News Settles With Gretchen Carlson; Greta Van Susteren Abrubtly Quits the Network

I taught political science all day, but did catch this headline at some point.

At NYT, "Fox Settles With Gretchen Carlson Over Roger Ailes Sex Harassment Claims."

Carlson settled for $20 million, which is freakin huge.

And Greta quit the network, apparently over contract negotiations --- and a release clause made her departure time sensitive. She tweeted earlier that the time to go was now.

I really like Greta. I hope she lands another network gig. She's so sweet and unassuming.

And see Hadas Gold, at Politico as well:


Added: There's a lot of detail at this CNN report, "Why Greta Van Susteren is leaving Fox News so suddenly."

I've Finished Alice Goffman's, On the Run

I really recommend it.

It's just a fascinating book, and Ms. Goffman's a fascinating scholar.

At Amazon, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City.

And don't miss the defense of Ms. Goffman, at the New York Times, "The Trials of Alice Goffman."

Shop Amazon: Bushnell Powerview Compact Folding Binoculars

These are some nice binoculars, and inexpensive.

At Amazon, Bushnell Powerview Compact Folding Roof Prism Binocular.

Also, in camouflage.

More here, New HD Bird Watching Optics at Unbeatable Prices.

BONUS: Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent.

Rise of the Populists: A Problem for Merkel and Germany

At Der Spiegel, "The state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania gave the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany a significant boost. It is a challenge for Chancellor Merkel and the entire country":

From a national political perspective, the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with its sparse population of 1.6 million, is a lightweight and largely meaningless. Usually. But this time around, following state parliament elections held there on Sunday, the situation is different. This vote, after all, was essentially a referendum on Chancellor Angela Merkel and her policies, which makes it quite meaningful indeed.

The results of that referendum don't look good for Merkel. Her center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lost four percentage points relative to the last time the state's voters went to the polls in 2011 for a result of just 19 percent -- while the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) brought in fully 20.8 percent of the vote. The party didn't even exist five years ago.

To be sure, the CDU hasn't done particularly well in the state for 20 years, but it is home to the chancellor's own parliamentary constituency, which means that the AfD has essentially staged a revolution in Merkel's backyard. And it did so by turning the elections into a single-issue vote: Merkel's refugee policies.

The strategy was so successful that the CDU has been relegated to being just the third-strongest party in the state, behind the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the AfD. It marks the first time in Germany that the anti-Merkel party has come out ahead of Merkel's party -- and in some parts of the German leader's electoral district, AfD was the strongest party of all.

For the chancellor, it is a political debacle. Merkel must now come to terms with a challenge at least as monumental as the one which faced her predecessor Gerhard Schröder back in the mid-2000s. Back then, the SPD chancellor found himself trapped between, on the one hand, having to explain his cuts to social welfare benefits and, on the other, the rise of the Left Party, a political movement to the left of the SPD that was fueled by exactly those cuts. In the end, he failed on both counts.

The parallels to Merkel's situation -- a CDU that has been divided by her approach to the refugee crisis combined with the rise of a right-wing protest party -- are significant. But the end doesn't have to be the same. The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania vote, after all, is only symbolically a debacle for Merkel. Her position as chancellor isn't (yet) at stake.

Emotions over Reason

But the returns on Sunday made clear that an increasing number of voters, at least in Germany's east, are turning their backs on the established, democratic party system. Furthermore, it doesn't seem to matter much if the economy is improving, cities are being renewed and the tourist sector is doing well, all of which are the case in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which has been structurally weak since German reunification in 1990. And it is possible for a party to campaign on fears of refugees even in a state that very few foreigners call home.

In short, emotions would seem to have triumphed over reason. Facts took a back seat.

It is precisely here that the challenge lies for Merkel, a politician who has always staked her political success on clear arguments based on facts and figures. She will have to do more explaining and more communicating -- and she will have to embed her policies within an approachable, meaningful framework in order to keep her party behind her. She may also have to take a few rhetorical steps toward the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which has been sharply critical of her stance on the refugee issue. That could include admitting that she has made some missteps...
I expect her to double down, and she may well decide not to seek reelection, leaving office satisfied that her administration did the humanitarian thing. She'll leave to her successors to clean up the mess. Fortunately, Germany's wealthy and prosperous. It'll work out for them. Perhaps not so much for all the other European countries who were brought along for the refugee ride, largely against their interests.

More.

Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union Finishes Third in Regional Elections (VIDEO)

I've been waiting for this, and believe me, it's just the beginning.

German federal elections are scheduled for next year.

Meanwhile, from Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "UNEXPECTEDLY. German Electoral Shocker: Merkel’s Party Finishes 3rd in Regional Election."



Flashback: From August, "Angela Merkel's Popularity Plunges After Wave of Jihad Attacks in Germany — Unexpectedly!"

Monday, September 5, 2016

Phyllis Schlafly Has Died

I saw her speak at CPAC in 2011. I was always amazed how energetic she was, pushing the hard conservative agenda in her twilight years. That's so awesome!

At NYT, "Phyllis Schlafly, Conservative Leader and Foe of E.R.A., Dies at 92" (at Memeorandum):

Phyllis Schlafly, whose grass-roots campaigns against Communism, abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment galvanized conservatives for almost two generations and helped reshape American politics, died on Monday. She was 92.

Her death was confirmed by the Eagle Forum, the conservative organization she founded in 1975.

In her time, Mrs. Schlafly was one of the most polarizing figures in American public life, a self-described housewife who displayed a moral ferocity reminiscent of the ax-wielding prohibitionist Carry Nation. Richard Viguerie, who masterminded the use of direct mail to finance right-wing causes, called her “the first lady of the conservative movement.”

On the left, Betty Friedan, the feminist leader and author, compared her to a religious heretic, telling her in a debate that she should burn at the stake for opposing the Equal Rights Amendment. Ms. Friedan called Mrs. Schlafly an “Aunt Tom.”

Mrs. Schlafly became a forceful conservative voice in the 1950s, when she joined the right-wing crusade against international Communism. In the 1960s, with her popular self-published book “A Choice, Not an Echo” (it sold more than three million copies) and a growing legion of followers, she gave critical support to the presidential ambitions of Senator Barry Goldwater, the hard-right Arizonan who went on to lead the Republican Party to electoral disaster in 1964, but who planted the seeds of a conservative revival that would flower with the rise of Ronald Reagan.

And in the 1970s, Mrs. Schlafly’s campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment played a large part in its undoing. The amendment would have expanded women’s rights by barring any gender-based distinctions in federal and state laws, and it was within hailing distance of becoming the law of the land: Both houses of Congress had passed it by a vote of more than 90 percent, and 35 state legislatures — only three shy of the number required for adoption — had approved it.

But the amendment lost steam in the late 1970s under pressure from Mrs. Schlafly’s volunteer brigades — mainly women, most of them churchgoing Christians (Mrs. Schlafly was Roman Catholic) and not a few of them lugging apple pies to cajole legislators. Despite an extension of the deadline, the amendment died, on June 30, 1982...
RTWT.

I discuss Ms. Schlafly every semester, when I talk about the defeat of the E.R.A. Never let anyone say you can't make a difference. Again and again in American politics, we see examples of prominent individuals shaping politics and American life.

What a lady.

Requiescat in pace.

Obama Dissed on the Tarmac in China (VIDEO)

I love this story!

At Liberty Unyielding, "Obama dissed at G20: Denied red carpet arrival; delegation shouted at, harassed."

Here's the damage control, from Margaret Brennan, at CBS This Morning:



BONUS: From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "POSEUR STRIKES POSE: Obama gives Putin his best death stare: Tense moment the world’s two most powerful men squared up at the G20 summit in China."

Kate Bock, Samantha Hoopes, Kelly Rohrbach, Tanya and Robyn Lawley (VIDEO)

Here's some more Labor Day loveliness for you, via Sports Illustrated:




Enemies of Irvine PTA Mom Face Ultimate Ruin

The final installment ran yesterday.

A pretty enjoyable read, although the experience wasn't enjoyable for the participants. Not at all.

At LAT:


And don't miss the letters to the editor. Readers loved the series, "Framed: Mystery series confirms truth is stranger than fiction."

A Deer Surprises Surfers at Salt Creek in Dana Point (VIDEO)

This is great!

At the O.C. Register, "Video: Deer shocks surfers after rushing into the ocean at Salt Creek":


Oh deer!

Surfers at Salt Creek in Dana Point got a shock on Thursday morning, when a deer rushed into the ocean during the Dana Hills surf team tryouts -- barely missing a collision with one of the surfers taking a wave.

Sheri Crummer, a judge for the tryouts and San Clemente resident, said people on the sand early morning were in disbelief when a deer suddenly ran past everyone on the sand and jolted into the water.

A surfer wearing a red jersey was pumping down the line and about to go for his final turn on a wave when the deer suddenly appeared in front of him, prompting him to kick his board out and bail out of the wave.

“We have no idea where he came from,” Crummer said. “That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Is Donald Trump Losing Suburban Voters?

I don't think so, although I haven't seen hard data.

Urban areas, especially in minority and college towns, are going to run to the far-left.

You'd think Trump would be winning the suburbs hands down. Or maybe he's got the ex-urbs nailed down, heh.

From Cathleen Decker, at LAT, "In Pennsylvania and nationally, Trump's problems with suburban voters blunt his ascent":
Marie Jeffries has a very firm view of Donald Trump, and she says it won’t change in the nine weeks before election day.

“He’s a wild man. I think he might put us into a war,” said Jeffries, who was among hundreds sauntering down Main Street in this southeastern Pennsylvania town on the balmy evening that opened Labor Day weekend.

She once was intrigued by Trump, she said, but “then he started the shenanigans, and opened his trap.”

“He’s a bully,” she said. “We’re trying to get away from it in schools. Why have a bully as president?”

Her views matter. Jeffries is a 66-year-old woman who lives in the suburbs, in her case Philadelphia’s. Right now, voters like her stand to cost Trump the presidential contests in key battleground states, starting with Pennsylvania.

Trump is caught in a powerful vise of his own making, between those who find him offensive, like Jeffries, and those who find him entrancing. The things he does and says that appeal to that latter group, which is dominated by white men, often alienate the suburban voters, particularly women, he needs if he is to broaden his base enough to win.

Mark Shimp is one of those Trump voters. He owns a plumbing company in Newtown, Pa., and calls Hillary Clinton “terrible”—the only printable description he can offer, he says.

“If there is a definition in the dictionary of what is wrong in politics, Hillary Clinton is it,” he said, standing on his front porch, a Trump campaign sign on the lawn and American and Marine Corps flags flying from a pole nearby.

“How does she feel the pain of the middle class?”

In broad strokes, Trump and Clinton supporters are seldom near each other in much of the country. The Republican dominates rural, white America; the Democrat overwhelmingly wins the cities with their higher minority populations. But in this slice of Pennsylvania north and west of Philadelphia, where the suburbs meet the exurbs, the two sides collide.

Already, the campaign has left many voters wary...
Actually, that's a pretty good analysis. I'm convinced it's going to come down to voter turnout among all those Trump supporters in flyover country. I mean it. They've seriously got to put a dent in those turnout numbers if the Manhattan mogul's going to have a chance in the battlegrounds like the Keystone State.

Still more at that top link.

President Obama Defends Colin Kaepernick

Obama's making a big mistake, but then doesn't he always?

From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "OBAMA DEFENDS KAEPERNICK’S NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTEST."

And here it comes, the anti-American boosters on the U.S. women's soccer team, "Megan Rapinoe Kneels for Anthem at NWSL Match."

I haven't made that big of a deal out of this, since it's your right to protest as an American. But it's stupid. The flag is WAY bigger than disgruntlement over so-called police brutality. Frankly, the whole Black Lives Matter thing's a stupid leftist scam.

ADDED: American patriot Debra Burlingame posted to Twitter. Gotta love that black nationalist Afro on Kaepernick, heh.


Abigail Ratchford Round Up

Well, we have seen Ms. Ratchford around these parts lately.

So here you go, via Last Man on Earth, "Abigail Ratchford Lingerie Round Up."

Previously Abigail blogging is here.

Samantha Hoopes Celebrates Labor Day on Malibu Beach

She looks great.

At London's Daily Mail, "Bikini-clad Samantha Hoopes celebrates Labor Day with American flag frolic on Malibu beach."

National Anthem Hypersensitivity Syndrome

Heh.

This is pretty good.

From Michelle Malkin, "Do you or someone you know suffer from National Anthem Hypersensitivity Syndrome? I've got the cure..." (VIDEO.)

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Crowds Flock to First-Ever 'Fleet Week' at Port of Los Angeles (VIDEO)

At LAT, "Port of Los Angeles hosts first Fleet Week."




Lucas Pouille Stuns Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open (VIDEO)

It was freakin' brilliant.

Over four hours and the Frenchman Pouille stunned Rafa.

At WSJ, "Rafael Nadal Ousted at U.S. Open":
Rafael Nadal, once the most reliable player in tennis in close matches, suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the U.S. Open.

Lucas Pouille, a 22-year-old from France, beat Nadal in five tense sets on Sunday that lasted four hours and seven minutes, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6).

Nadal led by a break of serve early in the fifth set. In the fifth-set tiebreaker, he trailed 6-3 before saving three match points to tie the score at 6-6. But then Nadal missed a shot that he never used to miss, a forehand in the middle of the court that was ready made for a winner. He drilled it into the net. On the next point, Pouille smashed a winner and fell to his back in triumph.

“Was a big mistake,” Nadal said.

Pouille said the miss was a relief and helped him go after the next point.

“I wanted to take my chance to be very aggressive,” he said. “That’s what I did at the match point.”

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam singles champion, had been making a comeback in recent weeks. At the French Open, he was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of a wrist injury. He skipped Wimbledon and decided to play at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. There, he won a gold medal in doubles and lost in the bronze-medal match of the singles tournament. He came to New York feeling healthier, he said, and more confident.

Nadal won his first three matches at the Open without losing a set—and then Pouille won the first set of this match in 28 minutes. The match was full of long rallies and lunging volleys, and Pouille showed off his variety, speed and resilience...
More at that top link.

And watch, "Lucas Pouille U.S. Open 2016 - INTERVIEW (VIDEO)."

Equality, Liberty, Justice

Heh.

It's the formula for a better world, and a richer one, from Deirdre McCloskey, at NYT, "The Formula for a Richer World? Equality, Liberty, Justice":
We can improve the conditions of the working class. Raising low productivity by enabling human creativity is what has mainly worked. By contrast, taking from the rich and giving to the poor helps only a little — and anyway expropriation is a one-time trick. Enrichment from market-tested betterment will go on and on and, over the next century or so, will bring comfort in essentials to virtually everyone on the planet, and more to an expanding middle class.

Look at the astonishing improvements in China since 1978 and in India since 1991. Between them, the countries are home to about four out of every 10 humans. Even in the United States, real wages have continued to grow — if slowly — in recent decades, contrary to what you might have heard. Donald Boudreaux, an economist at George Mason University, and others who have looked beyond the superficial have shown that real wages are continuing to rise, thanks largely to major improvements in the quality of goods and services, and to nonwage benefits. Real purchasing power is double what it was in the fondly remembered 1950s — when many American children went to bed hungry.

What, then, caused this Great Enrichment?

Not exploitation of the poor, not investment, not existing institutions, but a mere idea, which the philosopher and economist Adam Smith called “the liberal plan of equality, liberty and justice.” In a word, it was liberalism, in the free-market European sense. Give masses of ordinary people equality before the law and equality of social dignity, and leave them alone, and it turns out that they become extraordinarily creative and energetic...
RTWT.

Hat Tip: Instapundit.


What Can You Do With a Degree in the Liberal Arts?

A lot, although that's not what most people think nowadays, especially helicopter parents.

See Steven Pearlstein, at WaPo, "Meet the parents who won’t let their children study literature":
For me, there’s nothing more depressing than meeting incoming freshmen at Mason who have declared themselves as accounting majors. They’re 18 years old, they haven’t had a chance to take a course in Shakespeare or evolutionary biology or the history of economic thought, and already they’ve decided to devote the rest of their lives to accountancy. It’s worth remembering that at American universities, the original rationale for majors was not to train students for careers. Rather, the idea was that after a period of broad intellectual exploration, a major was supposed to give students the experience of mastering one subject, in the process developing skills such as discipline, persistence, and how to research, analyze, communicate clearly and think logically.

As it happens, those are precisely the skills business executives still say they want from college graduates — although, to be fair, that has not always been communicated to their human-resource departments or the computers they use to sort through résumés...
RTWT.

It hardly needs to be said, but I heartily agree with Pearlstein.

Lawrence Wright, The Terror Years

Hey, Lawrence Wright's got a new book out.

He's great!

At Amazon, The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State.

In the Mail: Mark Philip Bradley, The World Reimagined [BUMPED]

This just came yesterday, from Cambridge University Press, at Amazon, Mark Philip Bradley, The World Reimagined: Americans and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century.

I started it last night. If you like U.S. diplomatic history you'll enjoy this book. It's deeply researched and lyrically written.

More later.


Donald Trump’s America (VIDEO)

The presidential horse race remains neck and neck, and Trump's even up by three at the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times 'Daybreak' poll.

Trump need to keep pushing this message, hammering it hard:




Hundreds of Thousands Protest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (VIDEO)

The country's on the verge of collapse.

At NYT, "Venezuelan President Is Chased by Angry Protesters."





More video, "Socialism: Starving Venezuelan Protesters Chase President Nicolas Maduro Through Streets of Caracas."

Amber Lee’s Labor Day Forecast

It's been below average this weekend, but still plenty of nice warm weather if you're looking to get out in the elements, especially out toward Palm Springs.

Via CSB News 2 Los Angeles:




Lane Kiffin's Revenge: Alabama Beats USC 52-6 in Season Opener

Last I checked, the Angels were 20 and 1/2 games back, so I've obviously blown them off for the season. I'm looking for Houston or Seattle for the playoffs and World Series, and of course San Francisco and the Dodgers for the National League.

With that in mind, this year gives me a chance to really get into college football from the opening weekend of the season (I won't be watching nearly as much baseball), although the USC Trojans got off to an extremely inauspicious start. The Crimson Tide pounded USC 52-6. It was merciless, and frankly, Alabama wasn't even playing that well. The Trojans pretty much gave it up after about the first quarter. Man, it was ugly. But oh what sweet revenge for former USC Head Coach Lane Kiffin, who was unceremoniously thrown under the bus on the tarmac at LAX last year, fired in one of the most embarrassing moments in Trojan football history.

In any case, at the Los Angeles Times, "Alabama overpowers USC early and then often in 52-6 rout." And from Bill Plaschke's column, "Trojans aren't ready for Crimson Tide, prime time or much of anything":






It was the first game of the season, the most celebrated game in several seasons, and the USC football team was not ready.

How could they not be ready?

It was heralded as the beginning of a new era, the start of a new chapter, and USC acted like it was still on stinking probation.

How could a traditional national power take the national stage looking like … this?

The USC football team was many things in its 52-6 loss to top-ranked Alabama on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium. But there was one thing it was not, one thing that will be sure to upset the thousands of USC fans who joyfully and hopefully traveled here, one thing everyone had counted on seeing from this new look of a Clay Helton-coached team.

The Trojans were not Trojans. They were not the program that once had the discipline to create a dynasty. They were not Alabama, and that’s fine, because Alabama has won four national titles in seven years. But, seriously, they were not even within six touchdowns of Alabama in a game that wasn’t that close.

“Cold hard truth is we didn’t play up to ours,” Helton said of the Trojans’ potential.

Cold hard truth, they didn’t show up, and how could they not show up?

They were recklessly undisciplined. Jabari Ruffin stomped Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick directly in the crotch and got tossed out of the game.

They were distracted. Iman Marshall quit on a play and allowed ArDarius Stewart to race freely for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

They were outsmarted. Marshall and teammate Chris Hawkins both blitzed and left Stewart wide open to race downfield in completing a 71-yard touchdown pass.

They were sloppy. Chris Tilbey, the Trojans punter, dropped a snap and fell helplessly on the ball.

They were flimsy. Damien Harris ran through, and away from, the entire USC defense for 71 yards to set up another touchdown run.

They were disorganized. Helton called all three of his first-half timeouts in the first quarter, including two in seven seconds.

Finally, perhaps most painfully, they were willfully embarrassed by their former coach. Lane Kiffin, the deposed Trojans boss who runs the Alabama offense, poured it on, and on, and on. Everyone saw this coming, but it was even uglier than expected, Kiffin’s revenge even more painful than imagined...
Still more.


Alessandra Ambrosio In Beverly Hills

I don't know if I'm up for a full Rule 5 roundup. Either way, here's William Teach, at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup."

And at Egotastic, "Alessandra Ambrosio Pokies In Beverly Hills." She's so fabulous. I just love her.


Professor Joseph Stiglitz Discusses the Economic Vices and Virtues of Brexit (VIDEO)

Remember, he's got a new book out, available at Amazon, The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe.

And watch, at Sky News. He seems quite friendly:





The Environmental Crowd Knows No Compromise

It's not just the environmentalists (with an emphasis on "mental").

Leftists across the board are fanatical campaigners who see their cause as giving them unlimited license in pursuit of the agenda. We've seen this over the last few years on homosexual rights to Black Lives Matter.

But yeah, enviros are certainly overrepresented with regressive nutjobs.

From Rex Murphy, at Toronto's National Post:
The environmental protesters who are determined to throttle Alberta’s oil industry are so invested in the narrow, regressive world of their own doom-laden vision of the future, and the fanatic, narcissistic righteousness that is the hallmark of that vision, that they see themselves as having a licence to to do just about anything, no matter how morally reprehensible, in the pursuit of their cause.

Civilized debate, respect for one’s opponents, listening to differing opinions and good manners: these are the practices and mores of every other social and political exchange, and are necessary for reasoned debate to take place in a democratic society. Yet the anti-pipeline zealots seems to think that these standards don’t apply to them.

Witness that gruesome, arrogant invasion of the National Energy Board (NEB) hearing into the Energy East pipeline in Montreal this week. Three — just three — typically overzealous pipeline justice warriors flamed into the hearing room on Monday, screaming, “It has to stay in the ground.” One of them charged the panel members sitting at the front of the room, forcing the RCMP to subdue and shackle the bellicose buffoon. It was, of course, a stunt — precisely the kind of stunt that passes for protest these days, whenever the save-the-planet gang smells a camera in the distance, a headline in the making or an opportunity derail any legitimate airing of a contentious public issue.

They were only three protesters. But these three hooligans are a perfect example of the holier-than-thou mentality the pervades the modern environmental movement. Storm a meeting, scream slogans, insult the industry, play the victim, taunt the police, harass, intimidate and act like a thug — you may call it protesting if you wish, but bullying and boorishness are far closer to the mark...
RTWT.

Hat Tip: BCF.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Japan's Surrender Aboard the USS Missouri (VIDEO)

September 2, 1945.

NBC News had an excellent feature last night:



And the original footage of the surrender, "Japanese Surrender in Color (1945)."

'Throughout his career, [Governor Jerry] Brown has fostered policies that have contributed to the regulatory quagmire largely responsible for helping drive house values in California up more than three times the national rate in the last half century...'

It's Joel Kotkin, at the New Geography, "JERRY BROWN’S HOUSING HYPOCRISY" (via Instapundit).

Time for #NeverTrumpers to Man-Up

This is spectacular, from Ace, at AoSHQ, "FoxNews Poll: Trump Virtually Tied with Clinton in Four-Way Race; Down Statistically Meaningless Two Points, 41-39":

Hardest hit: The #NeverTrumper Pundit Class, who are depending on a blowout to maintain that their constant anti-Trump agitations cannot possibly affect the election.

Oddly enough, none of these people claim to have zero influence on the conservative population except when they agitate against Trump. I've asked several people to provide past resumes and book proposals to demonstrate they have previously claimed to have absolutely no readership or influence over other conservatives; none of them have come forward with such book proposals stating, "I vow to you that I have barely any readers at all and that my book, should you publish it, will make nary the faintest ripple in the national debate."

It's only now, during 2016 (specifically from May of 2016 to November 2016), that this obviously highly-self-regarding group of Thought Leaders is making this claim of having no importance and no following.

I imagine these claims will evaporate 'round the second week of November.

Then they'll all be back in Highly Influential Thought Leaders of the Conservative Movement mode again.

Sorry, I consider these claims to be cowardly, dishonest, and utterly chickenshit. People who have been cashing checks for decades based on their very value as magnets for conservative eyes can't suddenly claim that, at least for a six month period from May to November 2016, they have no influence whatsoever and are doing nothing at all to advance Hillary Clinton's election prospects.

It's cowardice, pure and simple. If you consider Trump so terrible that you feel obligated to support Hillary, then at least have the guts to say that, instead of putting on this childishly dishonest and evasive act of claiming that words people care enough about to pay you cash money for suddenly have no impact on anyone, anywhere, ever...
Keep reading.

Ace is the place, heh.

ANGELA MERKEL: I want a border control system 'modeled on the U.S. ...'

Now this is interesting, from Fuzzy Slippers, at Legal Insurrection, "Merkel: We Have to Demand Integration of Refugees."

'I don't know why Trump haters think they will get somewhere by expressing this kind of contempt. It feels utterly repellent to me...'

It's Althouse, who is "utterly repelled" by the "kind of contempt" shown by the #NeverTrump losers at Red State.

Here, "How on earth do you want to see a white man act in a black church? Is it supposed to be simply impossible?"


The Presidential Horse Race is Tied Up in Latest IBD/TIPP Poll

Well, I think I can finally dispense with my uncertainty about the state of the race at this point. We're in a certified dead heat horse race, and I love it.

IBD's poll is very reputable, and in fact is one the most accurate surveys out there.

See, "Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Are Tied In Latest IBD/TIPP Poll":
In a sharp turnaround in an already volatile election season, support for Hillary Clinton tumbled as Donald Trump made gains over the past month, leaving the race a virtual tie.

The latest IBD/TIPP Poll shows that Clinton is now ahead of Trump by just one percentage point, 44% to 43% among likely voters. Last month, Clinton had a seven-point lead over Trump — 46% to 39% -- among registered voters.

Clinton and Trump are tied at 39% each in a four-way matchup that includes Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who gets 12% support, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who gets 3%.

As the election nears, IBD/TIPP is narrowing the horse-race results from registered to likely voters. This month's survey included a total of 934 respondents, 887 of whom were registered voters and 861 were deemed likely voters. The margin of error for the horse-race results is +/‐3.4 percentage points. The IBD/TIPP Poll has been cited as the most accurate in the past three presidential elections.

"Two big factors are contributing to the tightening of the race," said Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, which directs the IBD/TIPP Poll. "One is due to Trump and other due to changes in the electorate."

Trump has been widely regarded as having had a good couple of weeks — which included his visit to flood-damaged Louisiana and his meeting with Mexican President Pena Nieto, as well as an outreach to blacks and apologies for his past tone.

The IBD/TIPP Poll results show Trump made solid gains among independents, going from 36% support last month to 44% this month.

"We also see a significant spike in enthusiasm among Republicans -- the 'silent majority' is turning into a 'vocal majority,' " Mayur said. "Republicans' interest level at 88% is significantly higher than Democrats' at 80%.

Clinton, in contrast, has been hit by damaging revelations in newly released emails about the unseemly relationship between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department during her tenure as secretary of state. The news appears to be taking its toll.

Clinton's favorability rating slipped from 43% in August to 40% this month among registered voters, while Trump gained seven points. Both candidates are now tied on this score.

Meanwhile, nearly two thirds (62%) now say Clinton is "not honest or trustworthy," up from 58% in last month's poll. Trump scores comparatively much better, with 52% saying he's not honest or trustworthy, a three-point improvement from last month.

Trump also made gains in other areas. The latest poll shows that 47% now think Trump would do a better job handling the economy, vs. 43% who pick Clinton. That's almost an exact reversal from last month. And while Clinton was ahead of Trump on handling terrorism, the two are now tied on this score at 45% each.

In other bad sign for Clinton, the share of her supporters who say they back her "strongly" dropped from 51% in August to 44% in September. Trump, on the other hand, saw his strong support climb from 47% to 50%...
Still more at that top link.

If anything, it's Hillary's stumbles that account for the tightening of the race. Yeah, Trump's doing better, having a good couple of weeks, etc., but if we could just get some laser focus among the MSM on her epic scandals and corruption, we'd be able to make it a race all the way to November.

Donald Trump Speaks at Black Church in Detroit (VIDEO)

He's got such an ease of relationships with the black community. It's on display. And I love his message of unity, peace, and prosperity. He's promising to right the wrongs that have afflicted America's blacks, and he's sincere.

I feel so bad that we might very well miss the chance to have this man as our national leader, because despite all of Trump's bluster, he's actually pretty meek in person. He in fact doesn't like to confront people face to face, he'll listen to concerns, and then use his business instincts to try to make this work. To try to strike a deal.

Remember Michele Bachmann from yesterday, where she said that if you don't like Trump's blustery demeanor, well, get over it. You gotta go with the full package, and I confident that he's expressing genuine heartfelt sentiments about black uplift and community recovery.

It's so much more enriching than what we hear from the current president, which is all about dividing communities rather than uniting them. Just look at public opinion polls on race relations today. Listening to Trump is like a breath of fresh air, and I'm black, people. My dad was black. My sisters and I endured racism and hostility when we were kids. No, I'm not from the downtrodden inner-city --- both of my parents held advance degrees from elite universities --- but the black struggle is real to me and I take all of this very personally.

In any case, at the Detroit Free Press, "Trump to parishioners at black Detroit church: 'I'm here to listen'." (At Memeorandum.)

And watch, at Fox News, "Trump speaks at Detroit church: We're in this together."

Hailey Clauson Summer of Swim Behind the Scenes (VIDEO)

Here's one more for now, via Sports Illustrated:



Charlotte McKinney LOVE Advent (VIDEO)

More babe blogging.

I'm getting reading for the Sunday roundups and need to make sure I've got some Rule 5 posted for the reciprocal linkage, especially from William Teach at Pirate's Cove.






Two Minutes with Emily Ratajkowski (VIDEO)

I'm behind on babe blogging.

So, enjoy Ms. Emily. She's got a great personality!



Previous Emily blogging is here.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Buy It: Heather Mac Donald, The War on Cops [BUMPED]

Ms. Mac Donald's book is having an impact.

Bill Whittle gives her a huge shout out at his latest "Firewall" video, "BLACK LIVES MATTER KILLS PEOPLE."

Be sure to get your copy, at Amazon, The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe.

Donald Trump's Immigration Speech Threatens Republican Party's Future

I don't really care about the future of the GOP, particularly if the party continues to morph into a mirror image of the Democrats.

The job of the opposition party is to oppose. Might the Republicans need to spend a few years in the political wilderness? Fine with me. Frankly, we could use a party realignment that shakes up the entire party system.

But see Cathleen Decker, at LAT, "In immigration speech, Donald Trump spurns softened tone and threatens Republican future":
Donald Trump’s aggressively tough speech on immigration buried the notion that he planned to pivot away from the posture that got him the Republican nomination to a gentler position tailored for more moderate general election voters, Republicans included.

It also may have buried his party’s strategy for long-term survival: the effort to appeal to the Latino and Asian voters who are replacing the waning numbers of white voters on whom the GOP has long depended.

Trump’s Wednesday night remarks made clear that he intends to try to win the presidency with the group that won him the nomination — mostly male, white voters who feel stressed by the economy, the rapid changes in American society or both — in defiance of fears even among other Republicans that such a base is not big enough to secure the White House.

Nothing in his speech served to expand his reach among minority Americans. For some Republicans who have worked for decades to diversify their party, the result felt apocalyptic.

Mike Madrid, a California GOP strategist who has sought to broaden the party’s reach among Latinos and other nonwhite voters, declared himself “stunned” at Trump’s approach.

“We’re witnessing the end of the party,” he said. “I now know what my father meant in 1980 when he told me the party he grew up with” — in that case, the Democrats’ — “was no longer the party he felt comfortable in.”

Republicans for decades have debated what was required to attract the minority voters who grow more influential each presidential cycle: Was it a softening of policy on immigration, or merely a softened tone toward immigrants?

Few considered what Trump delivered Wednesday night: a speech that was hardened in both policy and tone.

Trump reiterated his call for a giant wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. He said that his immediate priority as president would be deporting those undocumented immigrants involved in crimes, but also asserted that no one in the country without proper documents would be outside the reach of deportation officers.

He said that even those brought here illegally as babies would be subject to being deported, and that all immigrants here without legal authorization would have to return to their country of origin to seek future return.

He also expanded on a plan to curb legal immigration and said he would set in motion a system by which future applicants would be judged by unspecified accomplishments — a standard that could be unattainable by many current immigrants.

Dividing immigrant families, while unfortunate, might be necessary, he suggested, because “our greatest compassion must be for our American citizens.”

Trump referred repeatedly to “criminal aliens” — words that are taken as a slap by many Latinos — and painted a world in which violent hordes were streaming over the border to target Americans. (Both crime and immigration levels remain near historic lows.)

Earlier in the day, during a quick visit with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump had praised Latino immigrants as “spectacular” and “hard-working.” But by Wednesday night he was casting them and other immigrants as something more akin to a blight.

“No one will be exempt. … Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation,” Trump said. He added later, with a sharp edge, that “people will know that you can’t just smuggle in, hunker down and wait to be legalized. Not gonna work that way. Those days are over.”

The views Trump expressed have an intense appeal among his most loyal supporters, but not among a majority of rank-and-file Republicans.
Still more at that top link.

MAGA!

F.B.I. Releases Files on Clinton Email Server Investigation (VIDEO)

If Americans elect her it'll be the day truth dies in America. It'll be the day that partisan tribalism triumphs over basic basic decency and right and wrong.

At the New York Times, "F.B.I. Papers Offer Closer Look at Hillary Clinton Email Inquiry":


WASHINGTON — F.B.I. officials questioned Hillary Clinton extensively about her judgment in using her private email system to discuss classified drone strikes and in allowing aides to destroy large numbers of emails, before ultimately deciding she should not face criminal charges, according to investigative documents released Friday.

The documents provided a number of new details about Mrs. Clinton’s private server, including what appeared to be a frantic effort by a computer specialist to delete an archive of her emails even after a congressional committee had requested they be preserved.

In a 3½-hour interview with the Justice Department’s top counterintelligence officials on July 2, Mrs. Clinton defended her handling of the private email system by repeatedly saying she had deferred to the judgment of her aides, an F.B.I. summary of the interview showed.

Mrs. Clinton’s use of the private server has shadowed her presidential campaign for a year. And the newly disclosed records, while largely reinforcing what had already been known about the F.B.I. investigation, provided Republicans more ammunition to attack the Democratic nominee’s judgment and honesty as she heads into the final, post-Labor Day phase of the campaign.

Among the other key findings in the F.B.I. documents:

■ Mrs. Clinton regarded emails containing classified discussions about planned drone strikes as “routine.”

■ She said she was either unaware of or misunderstood some classification procedures.

■ Colin L. Powell, a former secretary of state, had advised her to “be very careful” in how she used email.

The F.B.I. documents show that an unnamed computer specialist deleted the archive of Mrs. Clinton’s emails weeks after the existence of the private server became public in March 2015...
Yeah, the dude just deleted everything. How convenient.

'You're Going to Have Taco Trucks on Every Corner...' (VIDIO)

I don't know what the big deal is. I'm personally not too worried about food trucks.

But the "Latinos for Trump" dude put out the warning, at RWN, "'Latinos For Trump' Founder, Issues Anti- Immigration Warning: “Taco Trucks On Every Corner."

As you can see at the post, it's not so much taco trucks but rule of law that's at issue. But pull up a chair, grab a cerveza, and get a good laugh out of MSNBC's coverage of the so-called "taco truck" gaffe:





Michele Bachmann: This Will Be 'Last Election' If Hillary Wins Presidency (VIDEO)

I love Michele Bachmann.

I always have.

Via CBN (via Memeorandum):




Deal of the Day: Under Armour Tech Clothing

At Amazon, Deals in Under Armour Tech Clothing.

More, Under Armour Men's Tech Short Sleeve T-Shirt, and Under Armour Boys' Tech Big Logo T-Shirt.

Also, Apple EarPods 827 In-Ear Stereo Headphones with Remote and Mic - White.

Plus, KIND Bars, Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, Gluten Free, 1.4 Ounce Bars, 12 Count.

And, GoPro HERO4 Silver.

BONUS: J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, Special Rehearsal Edition Script.

J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy [BUMPED]

Has anyone read it?

I think I saw this guy Vance on Fox News a while back, but I've been noticing the book a bit more.

I'd like to check it out.

At Amazon, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.

Hillary Clinton's 'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy'

At the Washington Post, "Hillary Clinton was right about the vast right-wing conspiracy. Here’s why it exists" (via Memeorandum):

The epic battles between the Clintons and their tormentors on the right have shaped American politics for nearly a quarter century.

But there was a moment early on when the toxic course of that history might have been changed, had it not been for Hillary Clinton’s impulses toward secrecy.

It came one weekend near the end of Bill Clinton’s first year as president, and pitted the first lady against her husband’s advisers.

“If a genie offered me the chance to turn back time and undo a single decision from my White House tenure, I’d head straight to the Oval Office dining room on Saturday morning, December 11, 1993,” ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, then a top aide to the president, wrote in his memoir “All Too Human.”

There was an urgent meeting that day to discuss a request by The Washington Post for documents relating to the Whitewater Development Corp., a failed Arkansas real estate investment the Clintons had made.

Whitewater had been an issue in the 1992 presidential campaign. More recently, questions had arisen whether the land deal and the Clintons might be linked to the collapse of a savings and loan.

Stephanopoulos and David Gergen, another senior adviser, were internal rivals at the time, who agreed on almost nothing. But both argued for full disclosure of the records. After a few days of rough coverage, they confidently predicted, the story would go away as the press corps discovered there was nothing sinister to the land deal and turned its attention elsewhere.

The president would not budge — and both of them knew why.

“Hillary Clinton is a woman of many strengths and virtues, but like all of us, she also has some blind spots,” Gergen said in a recent interview. “She does not see the world in the same way that others do, when it comes to transparency and accountability.”

She was not in the room, but the aides felt her presence.

“You could usually tell when Clinton was making Hillary’s argument: Even if he was yelling, his voice had a flat quality, as if he were a high school debater speeding through a series of memorized facts,” Stephanopoulos wrote. “Gergen and I didn’t know what was in the Whitewater documents, but whatever it was, Hillary didn’t want it out — and she had a veto.”

The fallout from that decision to stonewall would be enormous. Pressure built for the appointment of a prosecutor, first Robert B. Fiske Jr., and then Kenneth W. Starr, who had been solicitor general under former president George Bush.

Starr’s far-ranging investigation ultimately uncovered Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which led to his impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, would have the dark distinction of becoming the only first lady in history ever called before a federal grand jury. In 1996, she testified for four hours, mostly to answer questions about subpoenaed Whitewater-related documents that had vanished and then suddenly reappeared in the White House living quarters.

Gergen, Stephanopoulos and other top Clinton aides from that era — some of whom ended up with huge legal bills of their own — contend that none of this might have happened, had Hillary Clinton been more open in the first place.

“I believe that decision against disclosure was the decisive turning point. If they had turned over the Whitewater documents to The Washington Post in December 1993, their seven-year-old land deal would have soon disappeared as an issue and the story of the next seven years would have been entirely different,” Gergen wrote in his book about his time working for four presidents, from Nixon to Clinton....

Industry of scandal

Since then, an entire industry has grown up around Clinton scandals, pseudo scandals and conspiracy theories.

Countless millions have been raised and spent, both by their adversaries and their defenders. Republican-led congressional investigations have been launched, and lawsuits filed by conservative watchdog groups. The two sides wage constant war on the Internet, talk radio and cable news channels.

A search of Amazon.com finds more than 40 anti-Hillary books, with titles like “American Evita” and “Can She Be Stopped?” At the moment, three of the top 10 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list are volumes bashing the Clintons.

So Hillary Clinton had it right when she made her famous declaration that a “vast right-wing conspiracy” was out to get her and her husband. The opposition was and is passionate. It is well financed. It sees dark — sometimes preposterous — motives in nearly everything the Clintons do.

By the time Barack Obama took office, what she had called a conspiracy had grown into a permanent institution. On an ideological and political level, it fought Obama’s expansive view of government through legislation, lawsuits and grass-roots movements like the tea party. In its darker corners, it spread sinister rumors about his patriotism, his religious beliefs and even his citizenship.
More.

This story reminds me why I don't like the Clintons. I voted for him twice, but by the time of the impeachment I was deeply disappointed in Bill Clinton. Having Hillary in the Oval Office would just be the replay of an epic nightmare.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Heather Mac Donald: Does the Truth Matter?

At Prager University:



And buy Ms Mac Donald's book, The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe.

Robert C. O'Brien, While America Slept

Available September 6th.

Pre-order, at Amazon, While America Slept: Restoring American Leadership to a World in Crisis.

Ilan Berman, Iran’s Deadly Ambition

At Amazon, Iran’s Deadly Ambition: The Islamic Republic’s Quest for Global Power.

Milan Chatterjee, Graduate Student President, Quits UCLA After Being Harassed by Anti-Israel BDS Operatives

This is pretty mind-boggling, but not surprising in the end.

At the Daily Wire, "UCLA Student President Leaves Due to Anti-Israel Harassment."

Read it all at the link.

The dude's letter to the university left me shaking my head.

Enemies of Irvine PTA Mom Yearn for Revenge

Following-up from yesterday, "The Irvine PTA Mom's Enemies."

At LAT, "Framed: Secret lovers, legal maneuvering and a fictional blueprint for 'the perfect crime'."

I'm actually kinda hooked on this series, heh.