George Packer, The Unwinding [BUMPED]

Some readings to help make sense of the changes.

See George Packer, at Amazon, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.

BONUS: Justin Gest, The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality, and Dana Loesch, Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been To.

Steve Bannon Vows 'Economic Nationalist Movement' from the White House

Bannon's drinking leftist tears.

At Big Government, "Steve Bannon Vows ‘Economic Nationalist Movement’ from White House — ‘As Exciting as the 1930s, Greater than the Reagan Revolution’."

BONUS: "The Hill: Steve Bannon Unfazed by Criticism of Trump Appointment."

Heh, they posted a photo of a honey badger at the piece, lol.

Death Penalty Isn't Going Away in California

Apparently, the battle over the death penalty in California isn't going away, despite the failure of the recent voter initiative to ban it.

At LAT, "In California, death penalty abolitionists pledge to keep fighting":

As executions have declined and public opinion of the death penalty has hit a record low nationwide, many looked to California as a test of whether the public — not courts or governments — was ready to overturn the practice.

But California voters on Tuesday defeated a measure to repeal capital punishment and, as of Thursday, were on course to narrowly approve a dueling proposition that aims to amend and expedite it.

Death penalty supporters lauded the outcome, saying it reflected what they have been pointing to all along: Most Americans want the system fixed, not ended. But abolitionists argued that campaigns in favor of capital punishment benefited from the so-called “Trump effect,” a wave of mostly white, male voters from rural areas energized by the Republican presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

Proposition 62, which would have replaced capital punishment for murder with life in prison without parole, was defeated, with nearly 54% of voters in opposition.

Awaiting approval is Proposition 66, which intends to speed up executions by designating trial courts to hear petitions challenging death row convictions, limiting successive petitions and expanding the pool of lawyers who could take on death penalty appeals.

It has won the approval of 50.9% of voters. California elections officials have been sifting through ballots cast by mail, which account for more than half of the state's voter registration, and may not have a full handle on how many are left to count until Monday...

Actually, Prop 66 passed. See the San Jose Mercury News, "California’s death penalty: What to know after Proposition 66."

Look, Hillary won 60 percent of the vote in California. It wasn't just the "Trump effect." People still support capital punishment in this country, despite the vile coddling of murderers by radical leftists.

They Do Protest Too Much, Methinks

From Professor Michael Curtis, at the Commentator, "Anti-Trump rallies: They do protest too much, methinks":

The endless protests against Trump's victory can be seen as an exercise in free speech, but they must also be seen less kindly as undemocratic and indeed reactionary in their refusal to accept the validity of the democratic election result. Communist East Germany offers a poetic lesson

The ongoing protests, now in their ninth day, against the election of Donald Trump as US President can be seen in benign fashion as democracy in action, illustrations of the exercise of the right of free speech.

Some of the protestors may be sincere, open minded critics of what they perceive are Trump's policies and intentions. They do not deny the validity of his election, nor seek to disqualify it.

But the protests must also be seen less kindly as undemocratic and indeed reactionary in their refusal to accept the validity of the democratic election result.

The United States today has nothing in common with the Communist regime in East Germany in the 1950s. Nevertheless, it is well to remember the bitter remark of the German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht after the failure of the uprising of June 17, 1953 in East Germany against poor economic  wage and working conditions, an uprising  that was put down brutally by Soviet troops.

In his poem The Solution, critical of the brutality, Brecht ironically wrote it was easier for the Communist government to maintain control by dissolving  the people and electing another.

The present day U.S protestors , whether choreographed or not or organized by groups said to be sponsored by billionaire George Soros, in their refusal to accept the will of the people want to dissolve the American people and demand both the reversal of the election result and changes in the Constitution.

Based on the fact that Hillary Clinton, defeated in the vote for the Electoral College but obtaining a slim majority in the overall  popular vote, the protestors call  for the Electoral College to be abolished.

They appear ignorant that 2016 is not unique. Five times before in American history, a presidential candidate has been elected by winning a majority in the Electoral College but not the popular vote in the country.

Nevertheless, the protestors argue for the Electors on December 19, 2016 to ignore the votes of their states and vote for Hillary Clinton.

Protests by American citizens have been part of political theatre in American politics for some time but it is surprising that some of the present actors seem unknowingly to be playing the end of Shakespeare's King Lear.

The present day protestors overplay their role in viewing  the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President as "the weight of this sad time."

No supporter of Trump has ever claimed that he is, like Abraham Lincoln or Oliver Cromwell, the instrument of divine purpose.

Some protestors, whether from the Democratic Party, believers in identity politics, African-Americans, Latinos, Environmentalists, and LGBT, genuinely differ from President-Elect Trump on many policy issues...

Keep reading.

'Hamilton' Cast Boos Mike Pence

I'm sure Vice-President Elect Pence handled it with class.

Leftists, of course, have no class, and rank-and-file Democrats aren't pleased. Hard-left culture warriors are going to guarantee a second Trump term in office.

"We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us" https://t.co/ZQVEkoyWNq

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) November 19, 2016

What happened to @mike_pence at Hamilton last night has resonated already out here on Main Street. Regular Democrats I interviewed appalled

— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) November 19, 2016

Message from @HamiltonMusical /Broadway to paying conservative customers: Fuck you.
We'll see how that works out!

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 19, 2016

U.S. Media Normalizing Donald Trump

Sarah Kendzior's still on the warpath against the coming autocratic kleptocracy of the Donald Trump regime, lol.

Here's her latest screed, "We’re heading into dark times. This is how to be your own light in the Age of Trump."

And she's interviewed at Al Jazeera. But stay with it until the Mike Cernovich segment, which is much more enlightening and interesting:

I Didn't Even Know Liev Schrieber Was Married to Naomi Watts

I know now.

The boys are mini-mes of mother Naomi, lol.

Liev Schreiber steps out with his sons after split with Naomi Watts https://t.co/oU0CdUDYgm pic.twitter.com/HdMsbJH9Rp

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) November 19, 2016

Pic Dump at Theo's

One of the best things about Theo's blog, increasingly rare, the Pic Dump.

The X-Files: Complete Series Collector's Set Event Bundle

Heh, cool discs.

At Amazon, The X-Files: Complete Series Collector's Set + The Event Bundle [Blu-ray].

Save on Mattresses, Adjustable Bed Frames.

Also, Samsung UN48J5000 48-Inch 1080p LED TV (2015 Model).

BONUS: Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (Oxford History of the United States).

Donald Trump's Victory Tour

Heh.

I love it.

And boy does this piss off leftists, lol.

#DonaldTrump transition plans victory tour of campaign-style rallies. #MAGA https://t.co/YnkjIGqWv0

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) November 18, 2016

California's Electorate is Way More Leftist Than the Rest of the Country

I'll move out of California one of these days. The once-Golden State is way too leftist for me.

We're almost a radical-left island compared to the rest of the nation.

At LAT, "Why California went its own liberal way in the election":

California’s vote differs so much from the national pattern for two main reasons: Nonwhite voters, a group that is heavily Democratic, make up a significantly bigger share of the state’s electorate than the national one. Moreover, the state’s white voters are more likely to define themselves as liberals and identify with Democrats than are whites in the rest of the country.

In California, white voters made up about 56% of the state’s electorate, the USC/LA Times survey indicated. Clinton carried those white voters 55% to 40%, blacks by 84% to 13%, Latinos by 73% to 22% and all other voters by 57% to 35%, the survey found.

By contrast, a separate national post-election poll by SurveyMonkey found whites made up 75% of the electorate across the country.

Still more.

Drew Barrymore Beach Bathing Photos on Mexican Getaway

She's a good lady.

At London's Daily Mail, "Beach babe Drew Barrymore has fun in the sun on her Mexican getaway."

Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Isn't Reckless or Radical

From Edward Luttwak, at Foreign Policy, "Enough Hysterics. Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Isn't Reckless or Radical":

The global funk over President-elect Donald Trump’s nascent foreign policy — from Sen. John McCain’s declaration that his Russia policy is “unacceptable” to hysterical over-interpretations of his intentions regarding China and trade — will not last long. On Nov. 17, when Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the inevitable “normalization” of the new U.S. administration will start in earnest. Trump has declared that Japan should spend more on defense to share the burden of containing China more evenly, but there will be no rude demands. At the very most, at the next summit, or the one after that, Trump might suggest that a greater Japanese effort would be welcome. Because Abe has actually done much to strengthen Japan and do more for the alliance, the two leaders will find an understanding easily enough.

As for China and its maritime expansionism, Trump’s other policies matter more than his China policy in and of itself. Disengagement from Afghanistan and Iraq — no more troops will go in and those there will soon return home — and a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine would release U.S. military resources for the containment of China. That will facilitate a more muscular response to China’s island-grabbing in the Philippines, aggressive patrolling around Japan’s southernmost islands, and periodic intrusions into Vietnamese waters. President Barack Obama’s White House staff kept refusing U.S. Pacific Command suggestions for “freedom of navigation” patrols through the South China Sea in the hope that verbal persuasion alone would stop Chinese incursions. In diplomatic circles, it was reported that National Security Advisor Susan Rice opined that Beijing was “shapeable,” as if China were a very small country with not much of a history. Trump is unlikely to share such illusions, and he appears not likely to stop Pacific Command from doing its job of “keeping the sea lanes open” — the polite expression for denying Chinese territorial claims over coral reefs, rocks, and shoals.

If Trump’s Russia policy is successful, it will reduce tensions and thus the need to send more U.S. forces to Europe to strengthen the NATO alliance. But subject to that, Trump has said many times that he will press for more fairness in alliance burden-sharing, especially by NATO’s richer members. Some in Europe have already said any such attempt by Trump would instead prompt the establishment of Europe’s own united armed forces, finally overcoming objections from all sides. That would indeed be a curious response, because it would mean spending very much more than Trump would ask for. The more likely outcome is that Trump will get his increases — perhaps to the agreed-upon 2 percent of GDP.

That said, no distinctive Europe policy is likely to come from Trump. His vocal support for Brexit clearly showed his Euroskepticism. Like an increasing number of Europeans, he appears to view the European Union as a failed experiment devoured by its own bureaucracy and the euro monetary system as destructive to economic growth. On the other hand, no American president can say much on the subject once he is in office, and he can do even less, because the United States has no say in Europe’s own institutions. Yet even a silent Trump will encourage Euroskeptic politicians everywhere, perhaps tipping the balance in some countries, incidentally keeping the argument focused on liberty versus bureaucracy, as opposed to authoritarian or racist arguments. When it comes to Saudi Arabia, one might think that matters must go from very bad — its bitter quarrel with Obama over the Iran nuclear deal — to worse, given that Trump has said many times that he views “radical Islam” as a hostile ideology. Saudi Arabia has been the main source of this brand of Islam worldwide, followed by India (yes, secular India gives a tax exemption to the enormous Deobandi seminary that spawned the Taliban). But the Trump administration will not start religious quarrels and is not likely to abandon established diplomatic doctrine on sovereign immunity — despite it having been violated by the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act,” passed in late September over Obama’s veto, that allows civil lawsuits against Saudi Arabia.

Against all this, there is something much more important: In his eagerness to reach a nuclear accord with Iran, Obama disregarded Israeli and Saudi security concerns — they are under attack by Iran every day — and treated their objections with icy contempt. By contrast, Obama’s officials acted like excited teenagers with their Iranian counterparts. The Saudis took it personally as a betrayal — Washington consorting with its enemies against its friends. Although Trump will not repudiate the Iran accords he so loudly criticized (he can’t do so alone, as it’s a multilateral agreement), he will stand strong against Tehran. His officials will not tolerate any deviations from the nuclear deal, will not move toward lifting the ballistic missile and terrorism sanctions, and if Iran’s Revolutionary Guards try to humiliate Trump with naval provocations as they did with Obama, the U.S. Navy will sink a small boat or two, and U.S.-Saudi relations will be splendid once more...

Keep reading.

Francisco Balderrama, Decade of Betrayal

Well, considering developments, this might be an excellent book to read.

At Amazon, Francisco Balderrama, Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s.

Before the Election, Teachers Told Their Students Everything Would Be Okay. Now They're Freaking Out

I attended an immigration rights forum at lunch yesterday, sponsored by the Latino faculty members, which included a representative from the Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition. People are scared. The event was emotional. Lots of crying. I feel for these folks. In fact, I'm gathering information, including legal defense resources. With the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, I'd say the fears are well justified.

In any case, leftists thought unicorns and rainbows were going to continue in a third Obama term under Hillary Clinton. It's not happening, and school teachers are at a loss for words.

At LAT, "Teachers told their students everything would be OK after the election. Now, they're not so sure":

For months leading up to the presidential election, elementary school teacher Ingrid Villeda tried to instill in her students a certain faith in democracy.

The 18-year veteran of L.A. Unified’s schools looked for simple ways to decode the ugly back-and-forths on TV. She taught her fifth-graders about the virtues of a democratic nation in which ordinary citizens study the candidates’ policy positions and then choose their leaders. She wore suffragette white on election day and told them the story of how women fought for and won the right vote.

Within the walls of Villeda’s school, 93rd Street Elementary, where roughly three-quarters of the students are Latino, Donald J. Trump and his vow to deport millions of immigrants living in the country illegally seemed far away and fictional. That is, until the morning after the election, when Villeda’s students ran to her in the schoolyard, the sleepless night written on their faces.

“People really don’t like us?” asked a girl from Mexico. “What are we going to do about that?”

Recalling this moment in a phone conversation, Villeda began to cry. “They’re looking at me to be able to stand in front of them and say, ‘You’re okay; we’re going to be fine.’ ”

For students and teachers in the nation’s second-largest school system, the repercussions of America’s choice for president are likely to be both profound and lasting. In L.A. Unified, 74% of the roughly 600,000 students are Latino, and many have relatives and acquaintances who are living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Children are coming to school shrouded in anxiety, asking teachers to interpret the day’s headlines for them, examining each bit of news for its potential threat.

“Am I safe?” many want to know, voicing new concerns about immigration raids or hate-inspired attacks against religious and ethnic minorities as well as LGBT people.

“All week long they’ve been kind of like zombies, numb from shock, and so have a lot of educators,” said Martha Infante, 46, a social-studies teacher at Los Angeles Academy Middle School. The day after the election, she said, was the most difficult day of her career...

Still more.

President-Elect Donald J. Trump Selects U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General (VIDEO)

At NYT, via Memeorandum, "Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General."

It's a great pick.

And naturally, all leftists can do is bawl about how Sessions was accused of racism 30 years ago, allegations which apparently derailed a judicial appointment.

See Pema Levy, at the hate-site Mother Jones, "Sessions' Anti-Immigration Influence Will Go Far Beyond His Role as Attorney General: Thirty years ago, charges of racism derailed his confirmation for a judgeship. Now he’ll be vastly more powerful."

And at ABC News:

Sean Trende, The Lost Majority

Trende's writing is uncanny. It's some of the best political analysis of elections I've ever read.

At Amazon, The Lost Majority: Why the Future of Government Is Up for Grabs - and Who Will Take It.

And get a sample at yesterday's RCP:

Read @SeanTrende on The (Emerging Democratic Majority) God That Failed:https://t.co/1D1GtKhtlC

— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) November 16, 2016

Sarah Kendzior's Losing It

She's such a perceptive analyst, and often right, that she's gotten carried away by her own predictions of authoritarianism. She's now kinda pathetic.

A message about what we are facing. Please share. #Resist pic.twitter.com/CGMuidgUbg

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 16, 2016

Shop Today

Please shop though my Amazon links today.

I'll be back tonight for more breaking news, commentary, and analysis on all the developments.

Thanks again!

BONUS: Ruchir Sharma, The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World.

Obama Claims Trump's Election Wasn't Repudiation of His Ideological Vision (VIDEO)

Sure, go ahead and delude yourself Mr. President.

The fact is, November 8th saw the most beautiful ideological "shellacking" ever, heh.

At LAT, "Obama: Trump's election wasn't necessarily a rejection of my worldview":

President Obama acknowledged Tuesday that voters may have elected Donald Trump in part out of “natural desires for change,” but he batted down the idea that American voters gave an “outright rejection of my worldview.”

Hours after arriving in Greece to begin his final foreign tour as president, Obama tried to explain the American election, allowing elliptically for the first time that Trump’s election might have been a repudiation of his own presidency.

Presidential elections, Obama said, can turn on personalities as well as campaigns. Sometimes there are “natural desires for change when you have an incumbent who’s been there for eight years,” Obama said.

Still, “a pretty healthy majority of the American people agree” with his vision, Obama said, even though they did not elect Democrat Hillary Clinton on her promise to continue it.

“Sometimes people just feel as if we want to try something to see if we can shake things up, and that, I suspect, was a significant phenomenon,” Obama said.

Defending his record, Obama said key elements of his economic agenda for eight years — raising wages, investing in infrastructure and education — were directed at addressing the kind of anxiety that Trump successfully tapped into throughout his campaign.

"The problem was, I couldn't convince a Republican Congress to pass a lot of them," he said. "Having said that, people seem to think I did a pretty good job. And so there is this mismatch between frustration and anger."

Reacting to Trump’s stunning election upset for the second time in less than a day, this time on foreign soil, Obama drew a distinction between Trump’s victory and the so-called Brexit vote in Britain this summer, but also reflected on how nationalist sentiment that is threatening European unity might inhibit America’s own success...

More.

Kris Kobach Says He's 'Drafting Plan for Muslim Registry'

Fine with me.

We're at war for crying out loud. And as much as I pledge to be nice to them, it's not like Muslim residents are turning in the jihadists in their midst. In fact, it's probably the opposite: they're aiding and abetting them. God forbid we have another San Bernardino.

At PuffHo, of all places, "Reported Trump Immigration Advisor and Potential Attorney General is Drafting Plan for Muslim Registry."

I would love if Kobach got the nod for attorney general!

PREVIOUSLY: "Muslims Fear for the Lives (VIDEO)."

Bella Thorne Flaunts Her Abs After Working Out in Hollywood

At London's Daily Mail, the lovely little lady, "Bella Thorne bares her abs after gym session with her 'twin' sister Dani."

Muslims Fear for the Lives (VIDEO)

Following-up, "'Tolerant' Campus Administrators Exclude Trump Voters."

I attended the "safe places" event yesterday at my college, and two young Muslim women were there. They both wear the hijab, and one reports that's she's been harassed on campus since the election and the other says she's been living in fear for her life, even before the election. She thinks it's going to get worse after the inauguration.

I don't have any reason to discount their experiences. It's ugly all around. All I can say to people, as I've done in my classes, is that everyone deserves respect regardless of their background, religion, or political preferences. I'll continue to do that.

I'm also advocating for more resources on my campus. I think the best way for leftists to get used to the Trump era is for them to feel safe and included. I know media types will keep fanning the flames of division, so as a conservative I'm out to prove them wrong. That's what you have to do. Prove the leftist fuckers wrong.

In any case, at CNN:

'Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life...'

From Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker, Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life: Make It Happen in Business and Life.

Trump is certainly kicking ass. He said repeatedly, "we're gonna win." And he won.

It's a new era. Leftists are still struggling with the reality.

BONUS: Donald J. Trump, Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America.

House Democrats Pressure Pelosi Amid Party Turmoil

Good she's vile, almost as repulsive as Harry Reid.

At WSJ, "House Democrats Pressure Nancy Pelosi After Trump’s Win":

WASHINGTON—Democrats’ poor showing in last week’s elections has begun to shake the party’s foundations on Capitol Hill, triggering a likely challenge to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that risks upending more than a decade of continuity within the House Democratic caucus.

One week after Democrats picked up only a fraction of the 20 House seats that they had once expected to gain, dozens of rank-and-file lawmakers at a closed-door meeting called on Mrs. Pelosi to delay leadership elections scheduled for Thursday. By the end of the meeting, she had done so, giving a faction of unhappy Democrats until Nov. 30 to potentially build support for an opposition candidate.

The coming leadership fight, in tandem with a separate battle over who will lead the Democratic National Committee, will expose fault lines within the Democratic Party that have been buried for years, cutting along the lines of race, class, geography and gender...

More.

Ann Coulter: 'Screw You'

Heh.

"Ann Coulter: Appropriate Reaction to Those Calling Bannon Anti-Semitic, Racist: ‘Screw You’" #mustread #feedly https://t.co/awglyfUk8r

— TRUMP & AMERICA WON! (@MOVEFORWARDHUGE) November 16, 2016

Crestfallen Leftists Need to Get a Grip

A great piece, at the National Interest, from James Joyner:

America's electoral panic is out of control. https://t.co/M6gGLt9nbM

— National Interest (@TheNatlInterest) November 16, 2016

Bannon Derangement Syndrome

From Peter Ingemi, at Da Tech Guy's Blog, "15 Million reasons why the left is Demonizing Stephen Bannon."

PREVIOUSLY: "Anti-Bannon Hysteria More Evidence Left Has Lost Touch with American People."

Twitter Suspends Alt-Right Voices, Including Richard Spencer and Pax Dickinson

I think most of these alt-right people are idiots, but the best way to handle them is with ridicule.

Seriously, these people are like a bizarre time warp. Mock them. Ignore them. But don't delete them. That's authoritarian. But then, leftists control the social media space. You can't let leftists control social media, because they'll control the information battlespace.

Every time something like this happens, it reminds why Trump was so right to win, regardless of what I think of the alt-right bigot retreads.

In any case, at the Daily Caller, "Twitter Initiates Mass Purge of Prominent Alt-Right Accounts Following Trump Victory":

Several Twitter users noted that the mass bans could be a result of new reporting features the company added to prevent “hate against a race, religion, gender, or orientation,” as part of a policy change....

Our hateful conduct policy prohibits specific conduct that targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. Today we’re giving you a more direct way to report this type of conduct for yourself, or for others, whenever you see it happening. This will improve our ability to process these reports, which helps reduce the burden on the person experiencing the abuse, and helps to strengthen a culture of collective support on Twitter.

This is clearly political warfare.

If you read the whole thing the piece notes that Trump and his followers have been particularly powerful through social media, so deleting the alt-right is specifically aimed to weaken the movement.

See USA Today as well, "Twitter suspends alt-right accounts."

ICYMI, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land

At Amazon, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

And at the New York Review, from Nathaniel Rich, "Inside the Sacrifice Zone."

Jonathan Pie Holy Cow!

My god how'd I miss this guy?!!

This is fantastic!

At Pajamas, "Lefty Reporter Jonathan Pie Gets It, Breaks Down Exactly Why Trump Won."

Or go straight to the video, "President Trump: How & Why..." (Hat Tip: Instapundit, writing at USA Today.)

Asra Nomani: Why I Supported Donald Trump (VIDEO)

This woman is awesome. Brave and awesome.

At the Washington Post, "I’m a Muslim, a woman and an immigrant. I voted for Trump":

A lot is being said now about the “silent secret Trump supporters.”

This is my confession — and explanation: I — a 51-year-old, a Muslim, an immigrant woman “of color” — am one of those silent voters for Donald Trump. And I’m not a “bigot,” “racist,” “chauvinist” or “white supremacist,” as Trump voters are being called, nor part of some “whitelash.”

In the winter of 2008, as a lifelong liberal and proud daughter of West Virginia, a state born on the correct side of history on slavery, I moved to historically conservative Virginia only because the state had helped elect Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States.

But, then, for much of this past year, I have kept my electoral preference secret: I was leaning toward Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Tuesday evening, just minutes before the polls closed at Forestville Elementary School in mostly Democratic Fairfax County, I slipped between the cardboard partitions in the polling booth, a pen balanced carefully between my fingers, to mark my ballot for president, coloring in the circle beside the names of Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence.

After Hillary Clinton called Trump to concede, making him America’s president-elect, a friend on Twitter wrote a message of apology to the world, saying there are millions of Americans who don’t share Trump’s “hatred/division/ignorance.” She ended: “Ashamed of millions that do.”

That would presumably include me — but it doesn’t, and that is where the dismissal of voter concerns about Clinton led to her defeat. I most certainly reject the trifecta of “hatred/division/ignorance.” I support the Democratic Party’s position on abortion, same-sex marriage and climate change.

But I am a single mother who can’t afford health insurance under Obamacare. The president’s mortgage-loan modification program, “HOPE NOW,” didn’t help me. Tuesday, I drove into Virginia from my hometown of Morgantown, W.Va., where I see rural America and ordinary Americans, like me, still struggling to make ends meet, after eight years of the Obama administration.

Finally, as a liberal Muslim who has experienced, first-hand, Islamic extremism in this world, I have been opposed to the decision by President Obama and the Democratic Party to tap dance around the “Islam” in Islamic State. Of course, Trump’s rhetoric has been far more than indelicate and folks can have policy differences with his recommendations, but, to me, it has been exaggerated and demonized by the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, their media channels, such as Al Jazeera, and their proxies in the West, in a convenient distraction from the issue that most worries me as a human being on this earth: extremist Islam of the kind that has spilled blood from the hallways of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai to the dance floor of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

In mid-June, after the tragic shooting at Pulse, Trump tweeted out a message, delivered in his typical subtle style: “Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn’t he should immediately resign in disgrace!”

Around then, on CNN’s “New Day,” Democratic candidate Clinton seemed to do the Obama dance, saying, “From my perspective, it matters what we do more than what we say. And it mattered we got bin Laden, not what name we called him. I have clearly said we — whether you call it radical jihadism or radical Islamism, I’m happy to say either. I think they mean the same thing.”

By mid-October, it was one Aug. 17, 2014, email from the WikiLeaks treasure trove of Clinton emails that poisoned the well for me. In it, Clinton told aide John Podesta: “We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL,” the politically correct name for the Islamic State, “and other radical Sunni groups in the region.”

The revelations of multimillion-dollar donations to the Clinton Foundation from Qatar and Saudi Arabia killed my support for Clinton...

More.

Trump Supporters Explain Their Votes

At the Los Angeles Times, "'We're called redneck, ignorant, racist. That's not true': Trump supporters explain why they voted for him."

Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo: The Inclusion Delusion (VIDEO)

An excellent segment, from last night:

Black Mob Beats Chicago Man as Bystanders Scream 'He Voted Trump!' (VIDEO)

Really?

We keep getting all these warnings about harassment and "racist" hate crimes from Donald Trump supporters, but when a black mob beats a guy suspected of voting Trump, it's crickets.

Seriously, that's fucked up.

At the Chicago Tribune, "Bystanders yell anti-Trump taunts as man beaten after car crash."

There's video at the link.

Anti-Bannon Hysteria More Evidence Left Has Lost Touch with American People

I was ignoring this issue, precisely because of the absurd hysterics.

But here's David Horowitz, at FrontPage Magazine:

The losers of the left have worked themselves into such a bizarre hysteria over the fact that they lost the White House that they have lost all connection to reality and are now hyping their most ludicrously paranoid fantasies.

The function of this lunacy is to put off the inevitable moment when they are going to come back to Earth and reckon with the fact that they were horribly wrong and the American people have rejected them. For them, Stephen K. Bannon is the straw man of the hour.

I can’t think of anything stupider than the charge coming from all quarters of the left–including a headline in the pathetically wretched Huffington Post–that Bannon is an anti-Semite. The source? A one sentence claim from an angry ex-wife in divorce court no less, that Bannon didn’t want their kids to go to school with Jews. I find that particularly amusing since Bannon wanted to make a film to celebrate this Jew’s life.

Not to be outdone, CNN, which has been particularly vicious, did a nasty attack on Bannon using another of the thinnest reeds available: This was a headline at Breitbart.com calling Bill Kristol a “renegade Jew.” In fact, neither Breitbart nor Bannon is responsible for that statement. A Jew is. I wrote the article, which was neither requested nor commissioned by Breitbart. And I wrote the headline: “Bill Kristol, Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew.”

I wrote the article when Kristol set out to lead the “Never Trump” movement, after Trump had secured the Republican nomination. I would write it again in a heartbeat. I would write it the same way and with the same headline. Bill Kristol and his friends betrayed the Republican Party, betrayed the American people, and betrayed the Jews when he set out to undermine Trump and elect the criminal Hillary Clinton. Obama and Hillary are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization that launched the Arab drive to destroy Israel and push its Jews into the sea (that was their slogan).

If Obama and Hillary had their way, Egypt’s leader al-Sisi would be overthrown, the Brotherhood would be back in power, and Israel would be facing a threat from the biggest military power in the Middle East and almost  certainly at war with Islamic terrorists who openly call for the extermination of the Jews.

I have known Steve Bannon for many years. This is a good man. He does not have an Anti-Semitic bone in his body. In his new position as Chief Strategist in the Trump White House, Bannon is the strongest assurance that people who love this country can have in America’s future, the strongest assurance that America is in the hands of people who will give this country a chance to restore itself and defend itself against its enemies at home and abroad.

Far-Left Labor Leaders 'Reach for 1930s Analogy', Attack Trump's Election as Return of the 'Third Reich'

Well, folks have been going Godwin all year, but this is pretty absurd.

At Politico, "Labor leaders, alarmed by Trump, reach for a German analogy."

Labor leaders, alarmed by Trump, reach for a 1930s analogy https://t.co/icP5pBTPdN

— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) November 15, 2016

University of Rochester Professor Forced to Resign After Pro-Trump Facebook Rant

Wow.

Things continue to spiral out of control.

At the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, "UR program head out for Facebook comment to Trump protesters":

He offered to buy bus fare to Canada for University of Rochester protesters of President-elect Donald Trump if they promised to not return.

Now, Ted Pawlicki won't be returning as director of the university's undergraduate computer science program.

Pawlicki resigned under pressure after posting his irreverent remark on a Facebook page promoting a campus demonstration dubbed "Not My America" that was held on Friday.

"A bus ticket from Rochester to Canada is $16," Pawlicki wrote on the page a day before the event. "If this is not your America, then I will pay for your ticket if you promise never to come back."

The comment, which was subsequently deleted, drew swift condemnation from scores of people, some of whom called Pawlicki "a bully" and "tone-deaf" and reported his remarks as a bias incident.

Pawlicki resigned following the demonstration. His departure was first reported by the university's student newspaper, the Campus Times.

"I apologize for my Facebook post of Thursday, November 10th," Pawlicki wrote in an email to computer science students and faculty announcing his resignation on Friday. "These remarks were ill-considered, and I deeply regret any and all hurt they occasioned."

His email went on to state that he decided to step down after consulting with the dean of the engineering school, Wendi Heinzelman, and the chair of the computer science department, Sandhya Dwarkadas...

Well, I guess the Trump era of anti-PC hasn't hit the campuses yet.

Still more.

ADDED: Pawlicki will continue teach at the university as a nontenured lecturer. He was forced to resign as the director of the undergrad computer science program.

Why Did CBS Sit on Clip of Trump Telling Supporters to 'Stop' Harassing Minorities?

Well yeah, "PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW." (That's Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit.)

Here's Trump telling people to cut it out: "Stop It":

'Tolerant' Campus Administrators Exclude Trump Voters

Actually, I'm having the time of my life. Students have been asking me if I'm "okay," thinking I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. That's because I try to teach it down the middle and not let my own ideological predisposition influence my instruction. It's not hard, being a former Democrat, as I know exactly what warms the hearts of progressives, but then if I go too easy on the Democrats the conservative students think I'm "biased."

I guess that's better than being hounded as a conservative, which has of course happened in the past when my blogging has become an issue on campus.

In any case, I'm actually sympathetic to students who are sad, but at this point it's time to buck up and move on. Moping around all depressed about it won't change a thing. Trump's coming and folks better get used to it, or at the least start mobilizing for the next round of elections.

In any case, here's Professor Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "'Tolerant' educators exile Trump voters from campus":

Official safe spaces marginalize Republicans as the 'other' and turn universities into a joke.

One of the more amusing bits of fallout from last week’s election has been the safe-space response of many colleges and universities to the election of the “wrong” candidate. But on closer examination, this response isn’t really amusing. In fact, it’s downright mean.

Donald Trump’s substantial victory, when most progressives expected a Hillary Clinton landslide, came as a shock to many. That shock seems to have been multiplied in academe, where few people seem to know any Trump supporters — or, at least, any Trump supporters who’ll admit to it.

The response to the shock has been to turn campuses into kindergarten. The University of Michigan Law School announced a ”post-election self-care” event with “food" and "play,” including “coloring sheets, play dough (sic), positive card-making, Legos and bubbles with your fellow law students.” (Embarrassed by the attention, UM Law scrubbed the announcement from its website, perhaps concerned that people would wonder whether its graduates would require Legos and bubbles in the event of stressful litigation.)

Stanford emailed its students and faculty that psychological counseling was available for those experiencing “uncertainty, anger, anxiety and/or fear” following the election. So did the University of Michigan’s Flint campus.

Meanwhile, even the Ivy League wasn’t immune, with the University of Pennsylvania (Trump’s alma mater) creating a post-election safe space with puppies and coloring books:

Student Daniel Tancredi reported that the people who attended were “fearful” about the results of the election.

“For the most part, students just hung out and ate snacks and made small talk,” Tancredi told "The College Fix." “Of course, that was in addition to coloring and playing with the animals.”

Keep reading.

Funny enough, I'm going to attend a "safe spaces" lunchtime meeting tomorrow, mostly because I want to make sure students get accurate information, particularly on immigration (deportations could increase, although the "build the wall" might not play out in concrete policy right off the bat).

More on that later.

Divided Conservatives and the Donald Trump Era (VIDEO)

Dana Loesch is at the video, but see Max Boot, and others, at LAT, "Conservatives ponder the future of the GOP under Trump."

It was a rude awakening for Mr. Boot in particular.

From Brexit to Trump

Britain's Douglas Murray nails it, at Foreign Affairs, "Giving the Elites a Hard Kick":

The two big electoral events of 2016—Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president—were seemingly conjoined from the moment the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. That historic day in June was a sign that American voters might also choose, once given the chance, to give their ruling elites as hard a kick as possible, for as many reasons as possible. And just as the European Commission, a symbol of elitism, became the target for the British public, so too did Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton become a target for the American public on election day.

The two political upheavals are united in that both societies include a class of people whose job prospects have been wrecked by the outsourcing of labor, people for whom globalization is a problem rather than an opportunity. Perhaps the most important similarity, at least in the long term, will be that both events raise the possibility of a new left-right hybrid in domestic politics: one that learns from the years of lax immigration and the years of lax economics. This hybrid acknowledges the failures of right-wing free-market economics, favoring forms of protectionism over internationalism in trade policies; it also ignores some of the restraining shibboleths of left and right in recent years, instead recognizing legitimate fears of economic competition from abroad and the social concerns that immigration can bring...

More at that top link.

Bella Hadid Joins the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (VIDEO)

Watch, at V.S., "Bella Hadid is walking the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Paris—for the first time ever! Watch as she attends casting in New York City, and awaits the exciting news."

Bryiana Noelle in Motion (VIDEO)

At Playboy, "12 Sexy Photos of Miss September 2013 Bryiana Noelle."

More, "Bryiana Noelle: Miss September 2013."

Why Trump Won

From VDH, at the Hoover Institution:

Throughout the course of the 2016 election, the conventional groupthink was that the renegade Donald Trump had irrevocably torn apart the Republican Party. His base populism supposedly sandbagged more experienced and electable Republican candidates, who were bewildered that a “conservative” would dare to pander to hoi polloi by promising deportations of illegal aliens, renegotiation of trade agreements that “ripped off” working people, and a messy attack on the reigning political correctness.

It was also a common complaint that Trump had neither political nor military experience. He trash-talked his way into the nomination, critics said, which led to defections among the outraged Republican elite. By August, a #NeverTrump movement had taken root among many conservatives, including some at National Review, The Weekly Standard, and the Wall Street Journal. Many neoconservatives who formerly supported President George W. Bush flipped parties, openly supporting the Clinton candidacy.

Trump’s Republican critics variously disparaged him as, at best, a Huey Long or Ross Perot, whose populist message was antithetical to conservative principles of unrestricted trade, open-border immigration, and proper personal comportment. At worse, a few Republican elites wrote Trump off as a dangerous fascist akin to Mussolini, Stalin, or Hitler.

For his part, Trump often sounded bombastic and vulgar. By October, after the Access Hollywood video went viral, many in the party were openly calling for him to step down. Former primary rivals like Jeb Bush and John Kasich reneged on their past oaths to support the eventual Republican nominee and turned on Trump with a vengeance.

By the end of the third debate, it seemed as if Trump had carjacked the Republican limousine and driven it off a cliff. His campaign seemed indifferent to the usual stuff of an election run—high-paid handlers, a ground game, polling, oppositional research, fundraising, social media, establishment endorsements, and celebrity guest appearances at campaign rallies. Pundits ridiculed his supposedly “shallow bench” of advisors, a liability that would necessitate him crawling back to the Republican elite for guidance at some point.

What was forgotten in all this hysteria was that Trump had brought to the race unique advantages, some of his own making, some from finessing naturally occurring phenomena. His advocacy for fair rather than free trade, his insistence on enforcement of federal immigration law, and promises to bring back jobs to the United States brought back formerly disaffected Reagan Democrats, white working-class union members, and blue-dog Democrats—the “missing Romney voters”—into the party. Because of that, the formidable wall of rich electoral blue states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and North Carolina crumbled.

Beyond that, even Trump’s admitted crudity was seen by many as evidence of a street-fighting spirit sorely lacking in Republican candidates that had lost too magnanimously in 1992, 2008, and 2016 to vicious Democratic hit machines. Whatever Trump was, he would not lose nobly, but perhaps pull down the rotten walls of the Philistines with him. That Hillary Clinton never got beyond her email scandals, the pay-for-play Clinton Foundation wrongdoing, and the Wikileaks and Guccifer hackings reminded the electorate that whatever Trump was or had done, he at least had not brazenly broken federal law as a public servant, or colluded with the media and the Republican National Committee to undermine the integrity of the primaries and sabotage his Republican rivals...

More.

One thing you don't hear as much these days is how folks said they liked Trump because they wanted a fighter. They wanted someone who would fully push back against the left. That's what I always loved about Trump and I saw in him a chance to destroy radical progressivism. I'm happy to say it's a new day. We might not get everything we want, but there's no denying it's a new era in American politics, and the radical left has been badly sidelined.

Even if that's just for four years that's good enough to help preserve our country for decades. Leftists are again going to have to go back to the drawing board to mount a sustained power grab to match this last eight years. It's glorious.

Bwahaha! European Union Meets to 'Rethink' Defense Policy Under Donald Trump Administration

The E.U. is the epitome of the unaccountable elite, and now these despicable hacks are hating life.

I love it.

At the link is Federica Mogherini, the Italian Marxist who's been pushing an Islamo-communist agenda since she came to power as an E.U. apparatchik.

Fuck 'em.

At WSJ, "EU Meets to Rethink Defense Options Under Trump Presidency":

BRUSSELS — European foreign and defense ministers met Monday to approve ways of expanding their security cooperation as pressure builds on Europe to increase its own military spending with the election of Donald Trump.

Expanding European defense cooperation has long been controversial, with a number of proposals in the past blocked by Britain, which preferred to work to strengthen security through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

But Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and now the election of Mr. Trump has given fresh impetus to the EU to come up with new plans for security cooperation. In his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has questioned the relevance of the NATO military alliance and suggested American military support could be conditional on European defense spending.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has said Europe must develop strategic autonomy, an ability to act independently of the U.S.

“We have a lot of potential that we don’t utilize yet,” Ms. Mogherini said Monday. “There is a need to strengthen our security profile.”

According to a draft statement, due to be published later Monday, foreign and defense ministers said they were committed to strengthening the EU’s ability to act as a security provider: “This will enhance its global strategic role and its capacity to act autonomously when and where necessary and with partners wherever possible.”

Still, forging consensus in the EU is difficult, and divisions remain in the bloc over how to increase defense spending or create new military capabilities.

Concerns by a number of countries over the need to avoid duplication with NATO have resulted in a watered-down proposal for a military headquarters. The EU is now proposing a strategic group that could plan and oversee training missions but not conduct peacekeeping or other military operations.

The new EU plan focuses on how to improve and speed up such military training missions, leaving so-called collective defense planning to NATO.

In the short term, the most meaningful step forward by the EU will likely not be a new initiative, but simply utilizing its standing battle groups. Nations contribute a battalion of forces for six-month periods so that the EU always has a crisis-response team ready, but the EU has never used the force.

However, Monday’s statement contains a number of other initiatives that could over time significantly enhance the bloc’s defense cooperation.

The bloc will review its rules with an eye to increasing the amount of common EU funding available for covering the cost of its overseas civilian and military missions. It will study options for making the rules for deploying the battle groups more flexible and for ensuring the crisis-response teams are better equipped to respond to specific crises.

The EU will also hold regular leaders’ summits on defense and security and conduct an annual ministerial review of how the EU is doing to build greater defense capabilities. And it will look at the options for allowing a group of EU member states to set up a permanent defense structure that can build up the bloc’s defense readiness.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Monday’s decisions are a key moment in developing the bloc’s potential...

More.

Outpouring of Anger Has Little Recent Parallel (VIDEO)

It's the shock of it all. Leftist thought they had it in the bag, that, combines with the utter repudiation of the depraved far-left ideology, and it's really set them off.

At LAT, "Tempers on both sides flare in California after Trump's unexpected election victory":

A Bay Area teacher was put on leave for comparing President-elect Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. A woman speaking Assyrian on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train was accosted by another passenger who told her, “Trump might deport you.”

Some Latino students in Northern California were given mock “deportation letters” by a classmate. And a high school student in San Mateo County was given a bloody nose after voicing support for Trump on Instagram.

In the days since Trump was elected president of the United States, one thing has been certain in this divided country: Tensions are high.

The outpouring of anger has little recent historic parallel, said John J. Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College and a former Republican policy aide. Pitney said the closest comparison was with the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in a bitterly waged campaign that included the candidates trading insults.

For many people, this year’s election was less a choice between two candidates than about whether voters felt they would have a place in America, he said.

“A lot of people didn’t just see this election as a matter of political choice but a matter of identity,” Pitney said. “On the one hand, many of the people who voted for Trump see themselves as forgotten and disrespected, and many of the people who are against Trump see themselves as groups under threat. Feelings are going to run very hot.”

Demonstrators across the country have blocked streets in protest of the president-elect. On Saturday, some 8,000 people marched from MacArthur Park to downtown Los Angeles, shouting “Not my president!” as they formed one of the nation’s largest demonstrations so far. Hundreds more peacefully rallied in Hollywood on Sunday.

In other instances, demonstrating has turned ugly. Los Angeles police arrested hundreds of protesters who marched in downtown L.A. in recent days, saying they vandalized property, blocked roads, hurled bottles and refused to disperse. Taggers scrawled anti-Trump messages and profanity on downtown buildings, tunnels, sidewalks — even on a television news van and a police cruiser.

Anxiety has been so high that calls to anti-suicide and crisis hotlines have spiked since the votes were counted.

Steve Mendelsohn, deputy executive director of The Trevor Project, a West Hollywood-based organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ people, said his organization has seen a dramatic increase in calls and messages this week.

“Over 95% of those who called mentioned Donald Trump,” Mendelsohn said. “The general theme was anxiety and fear.”

They worried about potential bullying, their healthcare and whether gay marriage would be reversed, he said. On Wednesday and Thursday, the organization received 688 calls and messages. On the same days last year, they got 307 such contacts, he said.

Fernando Guerra, a political scientist and director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said the surprise outcome of the election, which many polls had predicted would be won by Democrat Hillary Clinton, is a major factor in the intense reactions.

“So many groups were told this wasn’t going to happen, both Trump and Clinton supporters,” Guerra said. “Both are shocked.”

Guerra said that while he thinks the protests are “a great outlet for a lot of people feeling threatened and emotionally displaced,” the large demonstrations will  last only a few weeks (and possibly re-emerge around Trump’s January inauguration) because it is difficult to organize and sustain ongoing protests.

He also believes the uptick in racially charged incidents is temporary because American public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to racism — especially if Trump and his supporters condemn racist acts.

“This is where leadership counts,” Guerra said...

More.

There Are Worse Things Than Losing an Election

I had the sweetest exchange with Bethany Mandel on Twitter last night, and she really made me think.

Leftists need to put things in perspective:

This is the worst thing that has happened in my life. But eventually we will triumph. https://t.co/BvKm1DKL1i pic.twitter.com/4fSMyH7PrY

— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) November 9, 2016

I took my mom off life support at 16 & dad hanged himself 3 yrs later. I'm sorry this election was so hard for you. https://t.co/yTjbeWzCep

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) November 13, 2016

Yumoom Men's Oversized Canvas Travel Duffle Bag [BUMPED]

A top product, at Amazon, Yumoom Men's Oversized Canvas Travel Duffle Bag Tote Luggage Bag Overnight Bags."

A nice bag too!

BONUS: Justin Gest, The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality.

Sunday Trump Girls Rule 5

Well, it's a new dawn, and Rule 5 blogging's going to be more popular than ever!

Flashback to June, "Babes for Trump."

And at Heat Street, "‘Babes for Trump’ Want to Break the Internet." (And see this "Trump Girl" posting this week.)

Also, at 90 Miles From Tyranny,"Morning Mistress," and Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

BONUS: At Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is horrendous carbon pollution created snow, you might just be a Warmist."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Tuesday Election Day Funnies."



Theo Spark, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco, "Angry White Leftists."

Reince Priebus Picked as White House Chief of Staff

There'll be some moaning from hardcore tea partiers and "Never Trumpers," but this is an extremely smart pick.

At LAT, "Trump chooses Republican Party chairman Priebus as his chief of staff":

President-elect Donald Trump named Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff on Sunday, suggesting an increased willingness by Trump to work within Washington's system to accomplish his agenda.

Priebus was viewed as a choice who could bring order and experience to Trump's inner circle, which consists largely of family members and advisors with little experience in Washington. He also serves as a bridge to Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The other leading candidate to run Trump's White House staff was campaign CEO Stephen K. Bannon, a more incendiary choice who helped bolster some of Trump's most divisive rhetoric about Muslims, immigrants and other minority groups.

Bannon will also play a major role in the Trump administration as chief strategist, the president-elect said...

More.

Trump rewarded loyalty, and I certainly noticed that Priebus went all out to support Trump after he won the nomination. I was kinda surprised sometimes the way things were going, considering how almost the entire GOP establishment had rebuked Trump time and again. Priebus held firm, and wasn't afraid of criticizing Trump on occasion.

Also at WSJ, "RNC Chair Priebus Is Named Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff."

Democrats Were Crushed in Appalachia

Salena Zito's reporting this year was perhaps the most important in all of journalism.

More here, at the Washington Examiner, "How the Democrats lost the white working class":

On Thursday morning the "Today" show had a segment on with a psychologist who was there to guide parents on how to explain Hillary Clinton's loss to their children.

"Well that is interesting, they sure didn't have a child psychologist on to explain to my children the loss of Mitt Romney, or John McCain. You just simply did not have that," said a suburban mother sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office with the morning show streaming on the television.

The young mother, an IT professional who lives in Pittsburgh, the "Paris of Appalachia," said she was stunned once again how the media still don't get people outside of the big cities.

"Two days later and they still don't get it," said Brad Todd, a Washington based Republican consultant who also caught the show.

Nor did Republicans go to the streets and start burning stuff either, he said, "And, by the way, if Trump had lost and this had happened, think how different this coverage would be. It would, in fact, be meltdown crazy."

Brad Todd has gotten this cultural disconnect for a very long time, reaching back to the 2006 midterm elections that threw his party out of power. Todd, the founding partner of On Message, a GOP media strategy firm based in Washington, has never lost his connection to the five generations of Tennesseans that came before him.

And one of the regions he has really understood was Appalachia, which stretches from the industrial North, through the Rust Belt, down into the Deep South that distinctively follows the migration and settlement patterns of early Scots-Irish Jacksonian Democrats.

These voters are Democrats by birth, a tradition carried on from New Deal-Democrat paternity who fundamentally started breaking with their party when they began cutting them loose after flirting with their support during the 2006 midterm elections. It's been a decade since they offered voters moderate Democratic candidates.

Since then white, traditional-values, working-class, predominantly male voters have been severed from their party so they could build an urban- and cosmopolitan-centered coalition of minorities, elites and women...

Keep reading.

Mary Matalin's Facial Expressions Are Everything (VIDEO)

Heh.

Check out this post from Fuzzy Slippers, at Legal Insurrection.

Mary Matalin is just trippin' on Van Jones and Katrina vanden Heuval. Her facial expressions tell it all.

Here, "Mary Matalin v. Van Jones on Race in the 2016 Election."

John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Right Nation [BUMPED]

I read this book when it came out in 2005, although I admit I'd thought the arguments had gone out of favor.

But maybe not, after what we saw on election day.

Check it out, at Amazon, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America.

America is fundamentally a conservative nation at its core. The left has been trying to change that for generations, and came close during the Obama years. But now the "silent majority" has awakened, and leftist forces are in shock. Progressives and radicals are traumatized, and their coddling ideology has left them bereft with coping mechanisms.

Oh god what a beauty to behold. I'm loving this moment like you can't imagine. It's glorious.

Judge Jeanine's Opening Statement: This Was a Revolution (VIDEO)

So good!

She predicted an American Brexit and boy did she nail it!

President-Elect Trump Plans to Deport as Many as Two to Three Million Illegal Aliens Right Away

If you're a leftist, this is scary, but then, it's Obama who's to blame, not Trump.

Leftists had a chance to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2009, including an earned legalization program, but they put it off, mostly because they wanted to keep illegal immigration as a wedge issue.

Big mistake.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "President Trump Vows to Immediately Deport 2-3 Million Criminal Illegal Aliens":

President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration stance was a central part of his campaign message in 2016 -- and he said in an interview airing Sunday that he plans to immediately deport approximately two to three million undocumented immigrants.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “But we’re getting them out of our country, they’re here illegally.”

He continued by saying that after the border is “secure,” immigration officials will begin to make a “determination” about the remaining undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

“After the border is secure and after everything gets normalized, we’re going to make a determination on the people that they’re talking about who are terrific people, they’re terrific people but we are gonna make a determination at that,” he said. “But before we make that determination...it’s very important, we are going to secure our border.”

Asked whether he really plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border -- a proposal that served as a centerpiece of his campaign message -- Trump replied, “Yes.”

Since Trump’s election on Tuesday night, the realities of actually building that wall have begun to set in The Mexican government has publicly reminded him that Mexico will not pay for the wall. And asked about the wall, Trump transition co-chair Newt Gingrich said the wall was “a great campaign device.”

Trump also told “60 Minutes” that the border wall, which was one of the centerpieces of his campaign platform, could be part wall and “some fencing,” in accordance with what congressional Republicans have proposed.

“For certain areas I would, but certain areas, a wall is more appropriate,” he said. “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

There's No 'Post-Election Spate' of Hate Crimes Following Donald Trump's Election

The Southern Poverty Law Center is spreading lies about an imaginary "surge" in post-election hate crimes, and mainstream media outlets are spreading the untruths.

See USA Today, for example, "Post-election spate of hate crimes worse than post-9/11, experts say" (via Memeorandum):

What may seem like a dramatic rise in the number of hate harassment and hate incidents happening across the country in the wake of Tuesday's general election is not in anyone's imagination, experts say.

There indeed has been a spike in the number of reports of such incidents, say representatives for two organizations that track such occurrences. A representative for one group, in fact, said the rise appears to be even worse that what was took place immediately after the terror attacks in 2001.

"Since the election, we've seen a big uptick in incidents of vandalism, threats, intimidation spurred by the rhetoric surrounding Mr. Trump's election," Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., told USA TODAY. "The white supremacists out there are celebrating his victory and many are feeling their oats," Cohen said.

More.

And then see Reason, "There Is No Violent Hate-Crime Wave n 'Trump's America': Please stop spreading unsubstantiated stories of Trump-induced terror":

Let's get this out of the way: there's no doubt that Donald Trump's policies may pose a direct threat to certain classes of American people. But in the wake of his Tuesday night election as president of the United States, there has been a wave of people worrying for the physical safety of Mexicans, Muslims, and anyone else who isn't white, male, and gender-conforming. The fear seems to legitimately be that there are would-be perpetrators of sexual assault and race-based violence that have been well-behaved so far but will now, emboldened by a President-elect Trump, suddenly go wild with the raping and the hate crimes.

Implausible? I think so. But the narrative has been bolstered by a few high-profile incidents of alleged aggression in Trump's America...

More.

One-Third of Clinton Voters Say Donald Trump is Illegitimate President-Elect

I have to confess by this time I thought the anger and despair would have died down, but it's not. I expect it's going to go on for a while now, and those dejected about the election are never going to accept Donald Trump's legitimacy. What comes next isn't clear, but it seems to me people should be channeling their emotions and efforts into conventional forms of political participation, like organizing for 2018 and 2020. It's not that far away.

As noted, I was depressed for a couple of months after 2008, but when the tea party started going in my area, I joined up. It gave me a chance to be around similar people with similar goals, and the tea party started winning. It was fun. Democrats need to get organized at the grassroots. They need to get active and start working for their issues. If it were me (and I were young), I'd travel to those states where Democrats lost in the Electoral College and start organizing for the next round. Can Democrats win those disaffected voters back? That's the challenge. And it's a calling for the left.

In any case, at the Washington Post, "One-third of Clinton supporters say Trump election is not legitimate, poll finds":

33% of Clinton supporters do not accept that Trump legitimately wonhttps://t.co/x1uaOtvpPQ

— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) November 13, 2016

A strong majority of Americans accept Donald Trump as the winner of the presidential election last week, but a significant minority of Hillary Clinton supporters say his victory was illegitimate, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey was conducted immediately after Election Day as anti-Trump protests sprang up across major cities, at the end of an acidic campaign in which Trump himself said he may not accept election results if Clinton prevailed.

The Post-ABC poll finds 74 percent of all Americans say they accept the election of Trump as legitimate while 18 percent do not. That result parallels a Post-ABC Tracking Poll just before the election, which found 79 percent of likely voters saying they were prepared to accept the outcome of the election regardless of who they support.

But while Trump supporters were more reluctant about accepting results before Tuesday — 22 percent said they were not prepared to do so — an even larger share of Clinton supporters now say they do not view Trump's election as legitimate.

A 58 percent majority of Clinton supporters say they accept Trump’s election, while 33 percent do not. Questions about Trump’s victory are passionate — 27 percent of Clinton supporters feel “strongly” he did not win legitimately.

There are sharp racial and gender differences in Clinton supporters’ acceptance of the results. Only 18 percent of whites who supported Clinton say Trump is not the legitimate winner, identical to the public overall, but fully 51 percent of black, Hispanic and other nonwhite Clinton supporters say Trump’s victory was illegitimate. Women who supported Clinton are twice as likely as men to question the legitimacy of Trump’s victory, 42 vs. 21 percent.

A Gallup poll released Friday asking a slightly different question found a smaller 23 percent of Clinton supporters saying they would not accept Trump as the legitimate president when he is inaugurated in January.

In the Post-ABC poll, nearly all of Trump’s supporters say he was elected legitimately, 99 percent, also marking a turnabout in confidence from one week ago when only 69 percent said they were prepared to accept the results of the election...

That's pretty revealing: A majority of "non-white" Clinton supporters reject Donald Trump. How's that "Hope and Change" working out for us? This is truly the legacy of the Obama years. We're divided along racial lines like no time since the civil rights era of the 1960s.

And it's going to take leftists to make things better. They're going to need to find a path to healing. I see Trump supporters saying time and again that their support for the Manhattan mogul is not racial. But leftists see everything through the lens of race. It's a cancerous legacy of the last 8 years. And it's a challenge for all Americans.

Still more. (Via Hot Air and Memeorandum.)

Leftists Lost the Culture War

We saw a hint of this in the 2015 off-year elections. Remember Molly Ball's piece, at the Atlantic, "Liberals Are Losing the Culture Wars."

Well, two elections in a row and the results are in. Leftists have been crushed, phenomenally crushed in the culture wars.

At USA Today:

People are crying: It's not because they lost a race, they lost the culture war. #MAGA https://t.co/nRWT7takGq

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) November 12, 2016

California and Donald Trump on Collision Course Over Illegal Immigration

California's Democrats and progressives are going to lose on this.

It's ironic because when states like Arizona cracked down with their own immigration enforcement laws, the Obama Democrats argued that immigration is solely a federal responsibility at the Supreme Court.

Now that the shoe's on the other foot, not so much.

At LAT, "California and Trump are on a collision course over immigrants here illegally":

California is quickly becoming a battleground for immigration policy as a cross-section of leaders across the state vowed to fight any plans by President-elect Donald Trump to deport thousands of people in the U.S. illegally.

Trump said during the presidential campaign that he’ll build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and deport people in the country illegally. He is expected to unwind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an initiative by President Obama that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

California has some of the nation’s most liberal policies when it comes to handling immigrants here illegally. The state has allowed them to get driver’s licenses, health coverage for children and in-state tuition. Institutions like churches also support immigrants.

But the Golden State could be on a collision course with Trump if he pushes hard-line immigration policies enthusiastically backed by many of his supporters.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez led an interfaith prayer service Thursday night in which he reassured immigrants in the country illegally that the church would continue supporting them.

“In the past couple days since the election … we have children in our schools who are scared,” Gomez told the congregation. “They think the government is going to come and deport their parents.”

At a hastily convened meeting Friday at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that the city will question Trump’s decisions on immigration.

“If the first day, as president, we see something that is hostile to our people, hostile to our city, bad for our economy, bad for our security, we will speak up, speak out, act up and act out,” Garcetti said.

The mayor also said police would continue to enforce Special Order 40, which bars officers from asking people about their immigration status.

Kamala Harris, in her first appearance since winning her U.S. Senate race, also held an event Thursday at CHIRLA to announce her support for immigrants and criticize Trump’s plan for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Several days of street demonstrations in Los Angeles and other cities have followed Trump’s election, with protesters denouncing the Republican’s views on issues such as immigration. About 200 people were arrested Thursday night in downtown Los Angeles, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im.

Another anti-Trump protest is planned Saturday for MacArthur Park.

Of the 742,000 people across the country protected under DACA, about 200,000 are in Los Angeles County, according to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s executive director, said her office is being inundated with requests from immigrants about their status.

Marissa Montes, co-director of the Loyola Immigrant Justice Center, helps run a weekly meeting at the Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights. She said twice as many people — about 40 — showed up at this week’s forum Wednesday.

“People came out because of fear,” Montes said. “It was incredibly heartbreaking to tell people that I couldn’t tell them what was ahead.”

Good luck people.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's coming for you, so just keep protesting and organizing and making yourself visible. It only makes it easier for the Trump administration to deport you.

More.

Previously, "Obama's Immigration Executive Orders Can Be Easily Overturned; Trump Administration Expected to Boost Deportations, Spreading Fear Throughout Illegal Alien Communities."