Following-up, "Obama Administration Abstains as U.N. Votes to Condemn Israel Over Settlements (VIDEO)."
This video's four years old.
Mr. Pat appears a little leaner around the jowls, but his commentary's as biting as ever.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Obama Administration Abstains as U.N. Votes to Condemn Israel Over Settlements (VIDEO)
President Obama and his administration are working feverishly to sow as much evil as they possibly can before leaving office next month. The only consolation --- and it's a big one, thank God --- is that the incoming Trump regime will be like firecrackers in reversing every piece of blasted sod initiatives from this morally regressive refuse-stain of a presidency.
And if I haven't made myself clear enough, well, just get steamed a little yourself at the black-bark piece of human refuse Samantha Power's comments during her speech to the Security Council today. Behold human evil as it erupts in all its wicked hatred and bile:
Here's the story, at WSJ, "U.N. Censures Israeli Settlement Expansion as U.S. Declines to Block."
And if I haven't made myself clear enough, well, just get steamed a little yourself at the black-bark piece of human refuse Samantha Power's comments during her speech to the Security Council today. Behold human evil as it erupts in all its wicked hatred and bile:
Here's the story, at WSJ, "U.N. Censures Israeli Settlement Expansion as U.S. Declines to Block."
Benjamin Netanyahu's Christmas Message (VIDEO)
I love Benjamin Netanyahu.
His messages always make me feel so good and proud, and so welcomed in Israel.
I'm planning at trip to Israel, in fact. I'm not sure when. I have two trips on the agenda. I don't know if I can make it one big trip or not. I want to go to France, to Normandy, and I want to visit Auschwitz, in Poland. Then I want to go to Israel. That might be two trips, but we'll see. I'm not sure if my wife wants to go. She's not comfortable traveling outside of the U.S., and I don't blame her. But I'm not worried. Maybe this summer I'll be able to do some traveling. The time is right, financially as well as family-wise. I want my sons to go, especially my young son, who hasn't traveled a lot yet.
In any case, enjoy the prime minister's message, via the Conservative Treehouse:
His messages always make me feel so good and proud, and so welcomed in Israel.
I'm planning at trip to Israel, in fact. I'm not sure when. I have two trips on the agenda. I don't know if I can make it one big trip or not. I want to go to France, to Normandy, and I want to visit Auschwitz, in Poland. Then I want to go to Israel. That might be two trips, but we'll see. I'm not sure if my wife wants to go. She's not comfortable traveling outside of the U.S., and I don't blame her. But I'm not worried. Maybe this summer I'll be able to do some traveling. The time is right, financially as well as family-wise. I want my sons to go, especially my young son, who hasn't traveled a lot yet.
In any case, enjoy the prime minister's message, via the Conservative Treehouse:
'Listen children all is not lost, all is not lost. Oh no, no...'
CNN's going to run the Chicago documentary on January 1st. I keep seeing the ads for it, "CHICAGO’S AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY NOW MORE THAN EVER: THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO PREMIERES ON CNN ON JANUARY 1."
As noted at Wikipedia:
As noted at Wikipedia:
Second only to The Beach Boys in Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups, and one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold more than 100 million records."Saturday in the Park" is one of my favorite all-time songs. I don't listen to it enough, come to think of it.
According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading US singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 40 million units in the US, with 23 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi-platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have had five number-one albums and 21 top-ten singles. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 8, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York...
When Native Americans Were Arms Dealers — And Powerful, Formidable Warriors
I posted a bunch of links about the American West and Native Americans last night: "Two-Day Free Shipping Before Christmas."
I didn't know of this book, however, from David Silverman, Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America.
It's reviewed at the Los Angeles Times, "When Native Americans were arms dealers: A history revealed in 'Thundersticks'":
I didn't know of this book, however, from David Silverman, Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America.
It's reviewed at the Los Angeles Times, "When Native Americans were arms dealers: A history revealed in 'Thundersticks'":
In the years after the American Revolution, Seminole Indians built an arsenal of weapons acquired from Cuban and British traders that allowed them to defend their lands as an alternate and well-armed Underground Railroad in what was then Spanish-controlled Florida. To the horror of Deep South elites, the Seminoles shielded and supplied guns to Panhandle communities of Black Seminoles, small villages peopled by plantation runaways, intermarried tribal members and freed slaves of the tribe themselves.As you'll notice, the Seminoles don't appear to be the weakling victims of which the left always portrays American Indians. The tribe held off and defeated the U.S. army for half a century. While not all tribes had the capabilities and organization, Silverman's not the only one to document the fearsome fighting power of Native Americans. I linked yesterday S.C. Gwynne's, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, which also offers a powerful counter-narrative placing Native Americans at the center of hegemony for vast sections of the American frontier. It's important to keep this narrative in mind when you read stories of the "genocide" against American Indians, which is the left's dominant victim's narrative (and which is a lie).
“Together they resolved to keep white Americans and their slave catchers out of Seminole territory,” historian David Silverman writes in “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America.” “An alliance of militant Indians and black maroons supported by European resources was the materialization of a nightmare that had haunted white southerners ever since the seventeenth century.” ...
For the most part, Silverman avoids anthropological explanations for Native American tribes’ fascination with guns — save for the book’s title, which comes from a literal translation of the Narragansett word for gun, pésckunk. To explain the indigenous arms race that once gripped the continent, Silverman uses military history and political economy to chip away at Jared Diamond’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel” narrative, in which Europeans with superior weapons technology marched triumphantly through the Americas.
Instead, Silverman uncovers a history in which Indians quickly cornered a gun market, shocking European and American militaries with the breadth and superiority of their arms, most of them made in Britain or France. This indigenous arsenal explains why the Seminoles were able to repel the U.S. Army over three wars, spanning 1816 to 1858. Unable to best the tribe on the battlefield, the American military resorted to scorched-earth techniques — burning Seminole villages to the ground, destroying cattle herds — to starve the Seminoles and drastically reduce their population.
In contrast to a military that relied on the bureaucracy of purchase orders and shipping caravans to distribute its arms, the Seminoles’ decentralized backwoods armory lay scattered across the humid peninsula in dry, bark-lined underground caches. The tribe made dugout canoe runs to Cuba to restock guns while raiding Florida sugar plantations for their lead-lined vats, which were melted down for ammunition. As the wars raged on, tribal leaders set up pseudo peace talks with military officials as a ruse to have their younger warriors sneak off into the bushes to buy guns from the opportunistic traders who followed U.S. military campaigns. Most notorious, tribal warriors seized muskets from the battlefield dead.
Among North American tribes of the colonial period, the Seminoles were far from alone in one-upping colonial powers to master a multinational supply network of arms. Silverman calls this phenomenon “a gun frontier,” a nimble, intertribal network of trade that created an arms race on the American continent, often decades before the arrival of sizeable numbers of Euro-American settlers...
2-Year-Old Boy Found Standing in the Rain Wearing Only a Soiled Diaper, Surrounded by a Pack of Dogs
Actually, the pack of dogs was "protective" of the child.
A policeman found the boy and "scooped" him up, then drove around the neighborhood to find his house with the front door wide open and the dogs in the living room.
What a sordid, even horrific, story.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Toddler in soiled diaper found surrounded by pack of dogs in Victorville park."
A policeman found the boy and "scooped" him up, then drove around the neighborhood to find his house with the front door wide open and the dogs in the living room.
What a sordid, even horrific, story.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Toddler in soiled diaper found surrounded by pack of dogs in Victorville park."
I've Finished Shelby Steele's, Shame
A great book and a quick read.
And most heartily recommended, Shelby Steele, Shame: How America’s Past Sins Have Polarized Our Country.
In any event, I started Steven E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly yesterday, Polarized: The Rise of Ideology in American Politics. It's great. Also a small volume, I expect to read it in just a couple of days.
That's not the case with Robert J. Gordon's, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. It's a great book but a hefty tome! I'm currently on Chapter 7: "Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Illness and Early Death."
Finally, I still have a ways to go on Exodus. I need to finish that up so I can start another novel. I read more non-fiction nowadays, but I still love a good novel.
I'll have more book blogging later today.
And most heartily recommended, Shelby Steele, Shame: How America’s Past Sins Have Polarized Our Country.
In any event, I started Steven E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly yesterday, Polarized: The Rise of Ideology in American Politics. It's great. Also a small volume, I expect to read it in just a couple of days.
That's not the case with Robert J. Gordon's, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. It's a great book but a hefty tome! I'm currently on Chapter 7: "Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Illness and Early Death."
Finally, I still have a ways to go on Exodus. I need to finish that up so I can start another novel. I read more non-fiction nowadays, but I still love a good novel.
I'll have more book blogging later today.
Sasha Abramsky, The American Way of Poverty
I'm just now seeing this.
I used to study U.S. anti-poverty policy in great detail. With the appointment Dr. Ben Carson as H.U.D. Secretary, perhaps we'll have a real discussion of poverty in America.
And of course, many in the white working class suffer from the same pathologies as the black underclass --- a point J.D. Vance raises in his book, Hillbilly Elegy --- so it's all the more vital from a public policy perspective.
In any case, see Sasha Abramsky, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives.
I used to study U.S. anti-poverty policy in great detail. With the appointment Dr. Ben Carson as H.U.D. Secretary, perhaps we'll have a real discussion of poverty in America.
And of course, many in the white working class suffer from the same pathologies as the black underclass --- a point J.D. Vance raises in his book, Hillbilly Elegy --- so it's all the more vital from a public policy perspective.
In any case, see Sasha Abramsky, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives.
Lauren Southern: Top 2016 Election Conspiracies (VIDEO)
Be sure to stay with this to the end. I'm not sure how Ms. Lauren can keep a straight face, but it's pretty funny.
And ICYMI, her new book, Barbarians: How The Baby Boomers, Immigration, and Islam Screwed my Generation.
And ICYMI, her new book, Barbarians: How The Baby Boomers, Immigration, and Islam Screwed my Generation.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Pipeline to America: Africans, Asians, Haitians — Migrants from Across the Globe Risk Everything to Cross Into the U.S.
Well, the more things develop, the more Donald Trump is proven correct.
Check out this sensational story, from the front page at today's Los Angeles Times, "Africans, Asians, Haitians: The sharp rise in non-Latin American migrants trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico":
And stories like this are only going to bolster the GOP's case for securing the border. Donald Trump's got the pulse of the nation in this issue. It's why he's taking office on January 20th.
Still more.
Check out this sensational story, from the front page at today's Los Angeles Times, "Africans, Asians, Haitians: The sharp rise in non-Latin American migrants trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico":
Haitians, Africans, Asians: Mexico’s border cities are getting overwhelmed with migrants headed to America https://t.co/eK7BYGLa85 pic.twitter.com/cdVZ3c3GLU
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 22, 2016
One morning in January, five men from Nepal showed up at the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, looking for a bed for the night.And here's a personal story:
That’s odd, the shelter’s director, Father Patrick Murphy, remembers thinking.
This border city has been a gateway to generations of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Mexico and Central America, people dreaming of a better life in the United States.
But Nepal was 8,000 miles away. What were they doing here?
Within months, Tijuana would be teeming with migrants from across the globe — from Haiti, India, Bangladesh and various parts of Africa — all hoping to reach the U.S.
In a surge Mexican officials are calling unprecedented, some 15,000 migrants from outside Latin America passed through Baja California this year — nearly five times the number seen in 2015.
More than a third of the detainees being held in California immigration holding centers in September were from outside Latin America, U.S. officials say.
As they traverse a circuitous and dangerous path up the spine of South America, Central America and Mexico, they have strained resources along the route and presented new challenges for securing America’s southern border.
Emmanuel Ngunyi arrived in Tijuana on a flight from Mexico City, where he had spent a few days recovering from a tortuous journey that began with a flight from Cameroon to Ecuador and continued overland through half a dozen countries.Interesting that these migrants are coming here. You know, they could always emigrate to Angela Merkel's Germany, before the Germans pull the welcome mat.
A member of Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, the 25-year-old had been jailed twice for supporting a banned secessionist movement. The second time was the worst, he said. His jailers tied him from a ceiling and raped him with a candle.
If he could make it to the U.S., he was convinced, “My life will be secure.”
Some countries were easy to get through, even without a visa. Officials were issuing permits to transiting migrants giving them a few days to cross their territory. But other places — Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama — had closed their borders to the migrants. He had to enlist the help of smugglers to cross vast stretches of jungle, swampland and mountains on foot.
In all, it took Ngunyi two months to reach Mexico and cost him nearly $10,000. It was mid-May when he landed in Tijuana, and the early morning chill made him shiver.
He tried to hire a taxi from the airport to the border, but got into an argument with the driver, who he said grabbed his phone and pushed him out of the car. So he decided to walk the last few miles.
There was a long line of people waiting to use the pedestrian crossing at San Ysidro. He walked to the front and told the first police officer he saw: “I want to request asylum in the United States.”
“Do you see people like you here?” the officer barked at him. He was sent to the back of the line.
When he made it to the front, he was escorted into the port of entry to wait for an interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The wait lasted most of the day, and he fell asleep on the tile floor.
At last, it was his turn to be questioned. An official asked his name, what country he came from, his address.
Then another official burst into the room. “No, no, no, we don’t have space for them,” he recalled her saying. “Back to Mexico. All of them back to Mexico.”
It was past midnight when Ngunyi found himself once again in Tijuana, the gate to America swinging shut behind him...
And stories like this are only going to bolster the GOP's case for securing the border. Donald Trump's got the pulse of the nation in this issue. It's why he's taking office on January 20th.
Still more.
Trump Should Quickly Rescind Obama's Drilling Ban
Well, that goes without saying.
But see Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "FASTER, PLEASE. Andrew McCarthy: Trump Should Quickly Rescind Obama’s Drilling Ban."
Background here, "Obama Bans Drilling in Parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic."
You know O's last regulatory rules are mostly out of spite. He's pissing in the ashes of his destruction.
But see Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "FASTER, PLEASE. Andrew McCarthy: Trump Should Quickly Rescind Obama’s Drilling Ban."
Background here, "Obama Bans Drilling in Parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic."
You know O's last regulatory rules are mostly out of spite. He's pissing in the ashes of his destruction.
Hannah Ferguson Reveals All During Her Body Painting Shoot (VIDEO)
This is too hot to embed!
At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, "Hannah Ferguson Bears All In Body Paint Shoot."
At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, "Hannah Ferguson Bears All In Body Paint Shoot."
Two-Day Free Shipping Before Christmas
If you're doing last-minute shopping at Amazon, today's your last chance for free two-day shipping.
So, what are you waiting for? Get cracking amigos!
Some suggestions for under the tree...
See Stephen Ambrose, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West.
William C. Davis, The American Frontier: Pioneers, Settlers, and Cowboys 1800–1899.
Robert Bunting, The Pacific Raincoast: Environment and Culture of an American Eden.
Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story.
Nathaniel Philbrick, The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
S.C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America.
Bob Drury, The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend.
Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.
Peter Cozzens, The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West.
So, what are you waiting for? Get cracking amigos!
Some suggestions for under the tree...
See Stephen Ambrose, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West.
William C. Davis, The American Frontier: Pioneers, Settlers, and Cowboys 1800–1899.
Robert Bunting, The Pacific Raincoast: Environment and Culture of an American Eden.
Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story.
Nathaniel Philbrick, The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
S.C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America.
Bob Drury, The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend.
Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.
Peter Cozzens, The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West.
Jim Downing, The Other Side of Infamy [BUMPED
Hey, select two-day shipping and have these wonderful books delivered before Christmas.
At Amazon, Jim Downing, The Other Side of Infamy: My Journey through Pearl Harbor and the World of War.
Also, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice.
And Donald Stratton, All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor.
At Amazon, Jim Downing, The Other Side of Infamy: My Journey through Pearl Harbor and the World of War.
Also, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice.
And Donald Stratton, All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor.
Lauren Southern, Barbarians
Well, I love her videos. I expect her book will be good too. Indeed, she's getting excellent reviews at Amazon.
See Lauren Southern, Barbarians: How The Baby Boomers, Immigration, and Islam Screwed my Generation.
See Lauren Southern, Barbarians: How The Baby Boomers, Immigration, and Islam Screwed my Generation.
Tomi Lahren: Hey MTV Losers, Donald Trump's a White Male, Get Over It
Here's the irrepressible Tomi Lahren, who's got clips from the childish MTV '2017 Resolutions for White Guys' video.
Watch, "Tomi Lahren - Resolutions from a White Female to MTV - Final Thoughts With Tomi Lahren."
Watch, "Tomi Lahren - Resolutions from a White Female to MTV - Final Thoughts With Tomi Lahren."
Amazon: A Disrupter of All Things
From Barry Ritholtz, at Bloomberg, "Woe to Those Disrupted by Amazon":
I love Amazon though. I'm not worried about it crushing any of my own business ventures, heh.
The more I think about what Amazon actually is, the closer I come to this: It’s a self-funding incubator that ruthlessly kills the ventures that don’t work (remember the Fire mobile phone?), while pouring cash into the ones that hold promise. It’s a marketplace for new and used products, a place to hire people for services, a content company, a software maker, a gadget business, a cloud company and so on. Oh, and it’s an online retailer that just happens to be the world’s sixth-biggest company by market value -- about $365 billion.You have to read the whole thing to fully understand the lesson.
I still am not sure exactly what Amazon’s core business is or what it will end up being. I just hope it never sees an opportunity in any business I have a vested interest in.
I love Amazon though. I'm not worried about it crushing any of my own business ventures, heh.
Political Rules Changed in 2016
From Michael Barone, at RCP, "How the Political Rules Changed in 2016":
But keep reading.
Over the 40-some years that I have been working or closely observing the political campaign business, the rules of the game haven't changed much. Technology has changed the business somewhat, but the people who ran campaigns in the 1970s could have (and in some cases actually have) run them four decades later.I remember in the spring I told my students that if Donald Trump won the presidency he'd have broken all the rules of politics. Indeed, I expect he's rewritten the rule book now.
But suddenly this year, the rules seemed to change. Let me try to count the ways...
But keep reading.
Barry Switzer Punked the Media Press Pool at Trump Tower
OMG this is hilarious.
Via AoSHQ, "#FakeNews: College Football's Barry Switzer Explains How He Easily Punked Media Into Reporting He Was Under Consideration to be Trump's "Secretary of Offense" Who Would 'Make the Wishbone Great Again'."
Via AoSHQ, "#FakeNews: College Football's Barry Switzer Explains How He Easily Punked Media Into Reporting He Was Under Consideration to be Trump's "Secretary of Offense" Who Would 'Make the Wishbone Great Again'."
This is amazing https://t.co/lf6vv0FBUD pic.twitter.com/Nf9uFgCYyz
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) December 22, 2016
Kellyanne Conway Tapped as Donald Trump's 'Counselor to the President' (VIDEO)
This literally warms my heart, especially since she's super smart, close to the president-elect, and has a mellowing effect on Trump and his public statements.
She's going to be a huge asset to this White House.
At the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "Kellyanne Conway, ‘Trump Whisperer,’ Will Be Counselor to President."
And watch, at CNN, "Kellyanne Conway lands top White House job."
She's going to be a huge asset to this White House.
At the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "Kellyanne Conway, ‘Trump Whisperer,’ Will Be Counselor to President."
And watch, at CNN, "Kellyanne Conway lands top White House job."
Ivanka Trump, Flying Commercial, Accosted by Angry Leftists on JetBlue Flight
It's not moral equivalence, that there's "bad people on both sides."
No, leftists claim to be the tolerant ones. It's supposedly part of their DNA. They're better than you, remember.
Well, not so much actually. These people are in-you-face Hillary supporters and New York homosexuals. They're supposed to be the enlightened ones.
On Twitter:
No, leftists claim to be the tolerant ones. It's supposedly part of their DNA. They're better than you, remember.
Well, not so much actually. These people are in-you-face Hillary supporters and New York homosexuals. They're supposed to be the enlightened ones.
On Twitter:
.@lamblock Just wow: Ivanka Trump aggressively confronted, verbally attacked by man on flight with kids. https://t.co/qdZZjvW3fC
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) December 22, 2016
Harassing women and children at Christmas. Classy. pic.twitter.com/LX3u5RPS5t
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) December 22, 2016
Leftists are nasty, intolerant, hateful people. Period. https://t.co/jPju92p0q9
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) December 22, 2016
Leftists are out of control. https://t.co/UZ9PpE0G58
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) December 22, 2016
Ivanka Trump Berated, Harassed By Man On JetBlue Flight https://t.co/wdcCmBlXMW
— Ƭαвιтнα Ɓℓιѕѕ ❤ (@BlissTabitha) December 22, 2016
Please don't harass the president's grandchildren on planes (or anywhere). Sorry if this ruins your weekend plans.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 22, 2016
Jared Diamond, Collapse
My mom bought it for me for Christmas.
See Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
My dad once told me that you'll never be bored if you like to read.
And I love to read. And I love to blog about books and reading.
Thanks again for all your support. I really appreciate it.
Merry Christmas!
See Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
My dad once told me that you'll never be bored if you like to read.
And I love to read. And I love to blog about books and reading.
Thanks again for all your support. I really appreciate it.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Last-Minute Deals
At Amazon, Last-Minute Deals - There's Still Time to Find Gifts for Everyone on Your List.
More Gold Box Savings here.
BONUS: Katherine Cramer, The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.
More Gold Box Savings here.
BONUS: Katherine Cramer, The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.
Change! Young Americans Living With Parents at 75-Year High
Thank god our long national nightmare of Barack Obama in office is almost over.
What, it's less than 30 days until the Trump administration takes power. I can't wait.
At WSJ, "Percentage of Young Americans Living With Parents Rises to 75-Year High":
What, it's less than 30 days until the Trump administration takes power. I can't wait.
At WSJ, "Percentage of Young Americans Living With Parents Rises to 75-Year High":
Almost 40% of young Americans were living with their parents, siblings or other relatives in 2015, the largest percentage since 1940, according to an analysis of census data by real estate tracker Trulia.More.
Despite a rebounding economy and recent job growth, the share of those between the ages of 18 and 34 doubling up with parents or other family members has been rising since 2005. Back then, before the start of the last recession, roughly one out of three were living with family.
The trend runs counter to that of previous economic cycles, when after a recession-related spike, the number of younger Americans living with relatives declined as the economy improved.
The result is that there is far less demand for housing than would be expected for the millennial generation, now the largest in U.S. history. The number of adults under age 30 has increased by 5 million over the last decade, but the number of households for that age group grew by just 200,000 over the same period, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Analysts point to rising rents in many cities and tough mortgage-lending standards as the culprit, making it difficult for younger Americans to strike out on their own.
“I don’t think those are challenges that are going to keep young households permanently out of the housing market, but it may keep their homeownership rate near historic lows for likely the indefinite future,” said Ralph McLaughlin, Trulia’s chief economist.
The share of young Americans living with parents hit a high of 40.9% in 1940, just a year after the official end of the Great Depression, and fell to a low of 24.1% in 1960. It hovered between about 31% and 33% from 1980 to the mid-2000s, when the rate started climbing steadily.
The census data on living arrangements goes back annually to 1980, and prior to that was collected each decade.
Household formation is closely correlated with housing affordability and income. Among those aged 25 to 34, 40% of those earning less than $25,000 headed their own household. The share rose to 50% for those earning between $25,000 and $50,000, and 58% for those with incomes above $50,000, according to the Harvard Joint Center.
Census data also show younger Americans are getting married and having children later in life than previous generations. Even so, economists project the historically large millennial generation will more than double its current number of households through 2025...
Evelyn Taft's Wet Weather Forecast
It's raining tonight.
I love it, heh.
Here's Ms. Evelyn, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
I love it, heh.
Here's Ms. Evelyn, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Donald Trump Calls Berlin Truck Jihad an 'Attack Against Humanity' (VIDEO)
I love him.
I'm so happy we have someone who tells it like it is.
At CNN, "Trump calls Berlin rampage an 'attack on humanity'."
I'm so happy we have someone who tells it like it is.
At CNN, "Trump calls Berlin rampage an 'attack on humanity'."
The Year in Reading
Following-up from early this morning, "Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth."
I was reading this fabulous roundup of luminaries and their favorite books of 2016, at the New York Times.
Of course, not that many conservatives there, but of those that are, some interesting choices. Newt Gingrich recommends Daniel Silva, The Black Widow.
And Francis Fukuyama recommends Marisa Abrajano and Zoltan Hajnal, White Backlash: Immigration, Race, and American Politics.
I was reading this fabulous roundup of luminaries and their favorite books of 2016, at the New York Times.
Of course, not that many conservatives there, but of those that are, some interesting choices. Newt Gingrich recommends Daniel Silva, The Black Widow.
And Francis Fukuyama recommends Marisa Abrajano and Zoltan Hajnal, White Backlash: Immigration, Race, and American Politics.
Junot Díaz, Ava DuVernay, Hilary Mantel, John Green and many others share what they read in 2016: https://t.co/AW0kcMSlar
— New York Times Books (@nytimesbooks) December 19, 2016
Why Democrats Can't Move On
From Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary:
Still more.
Why Democrats Can’t Move On? - by @tobincommentary https://t.co/dLqXq2MZ1F pic.twitter.com/o6uLRLgogX
— Commentary Magazine (@Commentary) December 21, 2016
Like the effort to force recounts in swing states won by Trump, the attempt to persuade the Electoral College to see the president-elect as part of a Russian plot or to channel The Federalist Papers and pick someone else flopped. So now that the fantasies that the bad dream can be made to go away are exploded, what are Democrats who are still refusing to accept they lost to do?Remember, it's the left that's fomenting fascism in America. All these attempts to delegitimize Trump are textbook examples of fascist political agitation, right out of the last days of Weimar.
The answer from the left is “resistance.” That’s what Moveon.org — which helped organize some of the protests at the various Electoral College ceremonies as well as other anti-Trump demonstrations — is saying. What form will “resistance” take? That’s far from clear. The group’s leader Anna Galland seems to be primarily interested in more mass street theater. According to radical TV talker Keith Olbermann, it should consist of daily reminders to Republicans that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and refusing to refer to Trump as the president.
Such comically futile gestures don’t sound terribly inspiring or productive, but might make some people feel better. Yet those elected officials tasked with the duty to reconstruct the Democratic Party sound just as confused as nudniks like Galland and Olbermann.
A small number of centrist Democrats like Ohio’s Rep. Tim Ryan, who led a spectacularly unsuccessful challenge to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, think the party should try to cooperate with Trump on issues where they might agree. But that’s something a party increasingly dominated by its Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren leftist faction has no interest in doing. Ellison, who is continuing his effort to be elected the head of the Democratic National Committee, believes the party should refuse to support the infrastructure proposal in spite of the fact that it is remarkably similar to President Obama’s own first term stimulus legislation. While his hopes to be the DNC Chair are still up in the air, he probably speaks for most of his party when he says they don’t trust Trump and will resist him on every front.
The point here is not so much their understandable hard feelings about the election results. Rather, it is that they are still stuck in the denial stage of grief and can’t shake it off. Though they’ll pay lip service to the notion of serving the best interests of the country, there’s little doubt that they are far more interested in continuing the project to delegitimize Trump. That’s why so many of them continue to harp on the farcical notion that Vladimir Putin elected Trump or to hope some other Hail Mary play like parlaying disputes over the president-elect’s admittedly tangled and far-flung financial interests into an impeachment putsch even before he takes office will do the trick.
What this means is that rather than a fraction of the party’s extremists starting the new administration enmeshed in a new derangement syndrome, it appears the critical mass of the party that won 48 percent of the vote is unable to move past a disappointing election...
Still more.
Karen Dawisha, Putin's Kleptocracy [BUMPED]
A timely suggestion for your winter holiday reading.
At Amazon, Karen Dawisha, Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?
At Amazon, Karen Dawisha, Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?
Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo: Efforts to Abolish the Electoral College 'All About Race' (VIDEO)
I watched this last night and thought nothing of it.
Once again, O'Reilly hit the nail on the head. And like clockwork, leftists were outraged for O'Reilly telling it like it is.
Once again, O'Reilly hit the nail on the head. And like clockwork, leftists were outraged for O'Reilly telling it like it is.
this is getting lots of attention tonight https://t.co/SYlsj80HzB— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) December 21, 2016
.@oreillyfactor: “The left wants power taken away from the white establishment and they want a profound change in the way America is run.” pic.twitter.com/EggkBz7kvZ— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 21, 2016
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly under fire for race comments: "The left wants power taken away from the white establishment" https://t.co/qxBfsChIKw pic.twitter.com/RkaPfIRvvU— CNN (@CNN) December 21, 2016
At Least 32 Dead in Mexico Fireworks Market Explosion (VIDEO)
At CNN, "Mexico explosion: 32 dead at fireworks market as search teams comb rubble."
That's a spectacular explosion, almost like a military bombing zone. Man.
That's a spectacular explosion, almost like a military bombing zone. Man.
CNN's @sarasidnerCNN is at the scene of the massive fireworks market blast Tuesday in Mexico https://t.co/erMO1c1H9n https://t.co/R7hZlFktNQ pic.twitter.com/uBnx0qHON2
— CNN (@CNN) December 21, 2016
#BREAKING: Fireworks explosion rips through market outside Mexico City, dozens injured. https://t.co/s4FBLe7XVl pic.twitter.com/3rhxSk4a4Z
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) December 20, 2016
Why the White Working Class Feels Lost
Justin Gest's new book is The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality.
I like the comparative approach taken there. It's on my list for my next big splurge at Amazon, heh.
He's interviewed at Vox, "Why the white working class feels like they’ve lost it all, according to a political scientist."
I like the comparative approach taken there. It's on my list for my next big splurge at Amazon, heh.
He's interviewed at Vox, "Why the white working class feels like they’ve lost it all, according to a political scientist."
Hilltop Park San Francisco (VIDEO)
Via Thrasher:
The Tony Hawk Foundation helped provide funding:
Born in 1979, the Dish was the first skatepark in SF. Over the years it's seen broken bones, race riots, Animal Chin—all of it. The Trust for Public Land came at me about a year ago to redo the Dish; I recommended Grindline and they got the job. Fast forward to Dec. 3, 2016 the ribbon was cut and the park was open. Senators, skaters, builders and city councelors all made this day special. Anyway, it's there. Come and get it at the top of Hudson St. SF, CA. Nobody does it better — Jake Phelps.
The Tony Hawk Foundation helped provide funding:
12 December 2016 (Vista, CA) – Youth in San Francisco are enjoying their new skatepark at the city’s rebuilt Hilltop Park, and other communities can now take advantage of the same Tony Hawk Foundation construction grant that helped fund that amazing project.
A public skatepark typically requires funding from several sources, and over the past fifteen years the Tony Hawk Foundation has become one of the most significant, with over $5.6-million awarded to projects in all 50 States. As THF’s 519th skatepark to open, Hilltop is just the latest.
According to Will Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of The Trust for Public Land, THF’s contribution may not have been the largest, but it was pivotal. “The Trust for Public Land is deeply grateful for the Tony Hawk Foundation’s support of the Hilltop Skatepark. They didn’t just give generous financial backing, their support generated real excitement in the local community and being able to call on the Tony Hawk Foundation for technical advice and suggestions was tremendous. You can already see how popular the new design is with skaters of all ages and abilities, and we thank them for helping make that possible.”
The 16,000-square-foot concrete flow course and bowl was the result of local residents collaborating with several agencies and organizations, including San Francisco Recreation And Parks, The Trust For Public Land, Parks 94124, and the Tony Hawk Foundation.
In recent years, many THF Skatepark Grant recipients have reported that the contribution from Tony Hawk’s foundation also catalyzed their local fundraising. “The value of winning the Tony Hawk Foundation Grant cannot be measured by sheer numbers,” said Sarah Anderson, who led the Nyack, New York public skatepark to its grand opening in 2015. “The esteemed THF grant not only filled the skatepark coffer, it legitimized the project in the eyes of the public and activated donors, both public and private, to carry us forward to the finish line.”
Europe-Wide Manhunt for Anis Amri; Berlin Attack Suspect Previously Arrested Three Times (VIDEO)
At Blazing Cat Fur, "Berlin Massacre Terror Suspect Anis Amri Arrested Three Times This Year."
Figures.
Germany's probably swarmed with criminal jihadists, and Merkel doesn't even care. It's all about humanitarianism. That is, until your own citizens are massacred.
Merkel's party's going to be toast in this year's federal elections. Merkel's going to be toast in this year's federal elections. I'm surprised she's running or a fourth term.
More at the Telegraph U.K., "Live Berlin terror attack: Tunisian suspect was investigated over earlier terror plot":
Figures.
Germany's probably swarmed with criminal jihadists, and Merkel doesn't even care. It's all about humanitarianism. That is, until your own citizens are massacred.
Merkel's party's going to be toast in this year's federal elections. Merkel's going to be toast in this year's federal elections. I'm surprised she's running or a fourth term.
More at the Telegraph U.K., "Live Berlin terror attack: Tunisian suspect was investigated over earlier terror plot":
A Tunisian man wanted in connection with the deadly truck attack on a crowd at a Berlin Christmas market had been previously investigated over an earlier terror plot, a senior German official has said.
Ralf Jäger, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, said an investigation had been launched against ... Anis Amri, who was due to be deported, earlier this year on suspicion of "preparing a serious crime endangering national safety".
He moved around Germany and lived in several places, Mr Jäger said. Since February this year he lived mostly in Berlin, but he had been back in North Rhine-Westphalia recently.
The man is aged 21 or 23 and known by three different names, according to reports in the daily Allgemeine Zeitung and the Bild newspaper.
Both said asylum office papers believed to belong to the man were found in the cab of the truck.
The documents, which announced a stay of deportation, were found under the driver's seat of the 40-tonne lorry that barrelled through the Christmas market in the heart of the German capital.
Police were reportedly searching for the suspect, who was born in the southern Tunisian city of Tataouine, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Twelve people were killed in what German authorities have called a "terrorist attack" in Berlin late Monday, including the Polish driver of the truck. Twenty-four remained in hospital, 14 of whom were seriously injured.
The scenes instantly revived nightmarish memories of the July 14 truck assault in the French Riviera city of Nice, where 86 people were killed by a Tunisian Islamist...
Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth
Recommended by Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel (more on that later today).
At Amazon, Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life.
At Amazon, Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Alessandra Ambrosio LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)
As longtime readers will recall, Ms. Alessandra's always been a favorite.
Here she is in the latest installment:
Here she is in the latest installment:
Deal of the Day: Tonicstar Wireless Optical Mouse for Computer
The Left's Political Intimidation of the Electoral College Fails
A must-read editorial, at WSJ, "Hamilton’s Electors Vote Trump":
While Monday’s final tally wasn’t known when we went to press, the count was headed toward 304 for Mr. Trump, with two dissenting GOP electors from Texas.It's not Donald Trump who's raising the specter of fascism in America, it's the Democrats and the radical left. We've been witnessing it since the voters repudiated Hillary Clinton on election day.
It is nonetheless worth noting the extraordinary lengths that Democrats and the progressive media have gone to attempt to lobby electors to vote for Hillary Clinton or a Republican alternative. “Electors under siege,” said a headline in Politico, reporting that many “have been inundated by harassing phone calls and hate mail,” even “death threats.”
So much for the calm deliberation that progressives claim to want as they lobbied electors under the rubric of Hamilton’s Electors. The spectacle of the last month has been an exercise in political intimidation, precisely the kind of pressure politics that Alexander Hamilton wanted an Electoral College to protect the country from. There’s a case for independent judgment by electors, but only in extraordinary circumstances—such as learning something new and disqualifying about a candidate....
The larger cynicism at work is the continuing attempt to undermine Mr. Trump’s democratic legitimacy. First Democrats tried a recount, which failed when the Republican gained votes in Wisconsin. Then they turned to the Electoral College, whose vote won’t technically be official until the new Congress certifies the result in January. Look for Democrats to make speeches before the vote questioning Mr. Trump’s authority to be President.
Then there are the charges that Vladimir Putin elected Mr. Trump. Mr. Podesta—perhaps still trying to purge his conscience for not campaigning in Wisconsin—even suggested on Sunday that “Trump Inc.” advisers colluded with the Russians to hack Democratic emails. That would be some story, though we’ll wait for evidence. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump will be President, but he shouldn’t anticipate a honeymoon.
Last-Minute Deals in Tools and Home Improvement
I want to thank everyone once again for shopping through my Amazon links.
It's been a great season for Amazon blogging!
Thanks so much.
And keep shopping, here, Featured Holiday Deals in Tools and Home Improvement.
Plus, Gold Box Deals on Makita Power Tools.
More in Last-Minute Deals.
BONUS: Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.
It's been a great season for Amazon blogging!
Thanks so much.
And keep shopping, here, Featured Holiday Deals in Tools and Home Improvement.
Plus, Gold Box Deals on Makita Power Tools.
More in Last-Minute Deals.
BONUS: Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.
Kim McKinney Cohen's 'Primal Scream' Against the Democrat Party
Heh.
I love that, "primal scream."
At Politico, "‘It Was My Primal Scream’: A lifelong progressive was so disgusted with her party, she voted for Trump. Will Democrats care enough to win her back?":
I love that, "primal scream."
At Politico, "‘It Was My Primal Scream’: A lifelong progressive was so disgusted with her party, she voted for Trump. Will Democrats care enough to win her back?":
Three weeks before Election Day, as she sat at her kitchen table to fill out her ballot, Kim McKinney Cohen was angry and fed up. The Democratic Party, to which she had been unswervingly loyal for four decades, had sabotaged her chosen candidate, Bernie Sanders, and then lectured her about the need to vote for a woman whose hawkishness and arrogance rubbed her the wrong way. When Hillary Clinton said dismissively supporters of Donald Trump were “a basket of deplorables,” Cohen had heard enough.Keep reading.
“Well, then,” she sighed, "I guess I'm a deplorable.”
Obama, Now You Want to Be a Cowboy?!!
Watch, a righteous Tomi Lahren, "7 years later, Obama wants to be a cowboy . Convenient. I have some Final Thoughts."
Richard Haass, A World in Disarray [BUMPED]
This looks excellent, particularly in that Richard Haass is no hard-right neocon.
He's an establishment centrist.
And it's Obama's disarray.
At Amazon, A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order.
He's an establishment centrist.
And it's Obama's disarray.
At Amazon, A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order.
Lou Dobbs on the State of the Democrat Party (VIDEO)
Yeah, Lou Dobbs the man!
His rants against illegal immigration cost him his job at CNN, but he's riding high now on Fox Business News, and he's basking in the political power of the Trump movement.
The radical left has been reduced to irrelevance, and the radical left is frankly the establishment Democrat Party. They haven't learned the lessons of the election, and their chances of returning to power looks smaller as each day goes by.
A great clip:
His rants against illegal immigration cost him his job at CNN, but he's riding high now on Fox Business News, and he's basking in the political power of the Trump movement.
The radical left has been reduced to irrelevance, and the radical left is frankly the establishment Democrat Party. They haven't learned the lessons of the election, and their chances of returning to power looks smaller as each day goes by.
A great clip:
Fall of Aleppo is Huge Gift to Islamic State
From Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, at the Daily Beast, "The Fall of Aleppo is a Huge Gift to ISIS":
The idea is that the Sunnis will be so heavily wiped out that they'll rise up and join arms with the most murderous thugs of Islamic State. That's why the fall of Aleppo's a gift to ISIS.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the “Caliph Ibrahim” of the so-called Islamic State, had an excellent week last week.Keep reading.
The fall of Aleppo to a consortium of Iranian-built militias backed by Russian airpower and special forces constitutes not only a loud victory for Damascus but also a quieter one for ISIS, or the Islamic State, which mounted a surprise attack that retook the ancient city of Palmyra.
The contrast could not have been starker or a more clear vindication of one of ISIS’s longest-running propaganda tropes: the “infidels” and “apostates” will do nothing to save Sunni Arabs from the pillage, rape, and barrel bombs of the Russians, Alawites, and Shia. But Aleppo’s fall also buttresses one of the lesser-scrutinized claims made by ISIS’s former spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, shortly before his demise.
In May, months before he was taken out by a U.S. airstrike, Adnani issued what would turn out to be a final communiqué refuting a common Sunni criticism of ISIS, namely that the group’s takeover of Sunni towns and cities invariably brought only devastation. See Fallujah and Ramadi. For Adnani, however, such devastation was never the fault of ISIS, as rival jihadist enterprises had discovered at their peril.
“If we knew that any of the righteous predecessors surrendered a span of land to the infidels, using the claim of popular support or to save buildings from being destroyed or to prevent bloodshed, or any other alleged interest,” he said, “we would have done the same as the Qa’idah of the Fool of the so-called Ummah.” Only steadfastness, even in the face of overwhelming odds, would restore Sunni dignity.
Thanks to Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—not to say Barack Obama—Adnani now gets to play the posthumous prophet. Rather than die fighting for Aleppo, the Free Syrian Army (and its Western backers), plus rival Islamist or jihadist groups such the Syrian al Qaeda franchise Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, negotiated the terms of their surrender through a series of failed and humiliating “ceasefires” and evacuations, which are in fact forced population transfers. And Aleppo was still pulverized.
The loss will be compounded by the sectarian context. Aleppo fell to what Der Spiegel correspondent Christoph Reuter once aptly called the “first international Shia jihad in recent history,” led by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and relying largely on a patchwork of guerrilla fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Iraq. This is precisely what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian founding father of ISIS, wanted. He once described the Shia as “the insurmountable obstacle, the prowling serpent, the crafty, evil scorpion, the enemy lying in wait, and biting poison… Whoever takes the time to look carefully at the situation will realize that Shiism is the greater danger threatening us and the real challenge we must confront.” And the only way to confront this enemy in Iraq was to render Sunnis hopeless that anyone else would, by attacking the Shia so that the Shia took revenge by attacking the outnumbered Sunnis.
In Syria, the Zarqawi thesis is even more relevant, as the country is a Sunni majority one and is now subject to occupation by a minority. And as bad as the physical collapse of the symbolic citadel of Syria’s revolution is, worse still is the chauvinist triumphalism attending it, which plays directly into the Zarqawi strategy.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, one of the Iraqi militias which the United Nations accused of murdering 85 civilians, including women and children, broadcast a song on an affiliated Iraqi TV channel. “Aleppo is Shia,” it ran. In his Friday sermon, delivered in Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani declared the “liberation” of the city from “infidels”—using more or less the same language of sectarian incitement that ISIS reserves for the Kashani’s coreligionists. In this case, the cleric was declaring all 150,000 Sunnis who’d been besieged for months in East Aleppo, and now driven from their homes, godless. Even he must be aware of the lasting repercussions of such imprecations.
Rhetorical provocation has also been met by the visual kind. Images circulating on social media to show Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s spymaster and head of the expeditionary Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, treading the rubble in Aleppo in an unmistakable show of who was really responsible for the siege and recapture. (Bashar al-Assad, the nominal sovereign of “all of Syria,” is nowhere to be seen on this hollowed-out and Iranian-occupied battlefield.) Any of these photographs could easily grace the forthcoming issue of Rumiyah, ISIS’s propaganda magazine...
The idea is that the Sunnis will be so heavily wiped out that they'll rise up and join arms with the most murderous thugs of Islamic State. That's why the fall of Aleppo's a gift to ISIS.
Berlin Attack Suspect Still at Large; Police Admit Wrong Man in Custody (VIDEO)
Well, how do you say FUBAR in German?
At the Telegraph U.K., "Live - Berlin terror attack Perpetrator 'still at large and has a weapon' as police admit they may have wrong man in custody after arresting asylum seeker":
They won't catch him. They won't catch the suspect. The dude will sink and blend in with the local Islamic community. They'll plan more attacks.
Oh boy Merkel screwed the pooch.
At the Telegraph U.K., "Live - Berlin terror attack Perpetrator 'still at large and has a weapon' as police admit they may have wrong man in custody after arresting asylum seeker":
German police have said they may have arrested the wrong man over the Berlin terror attack, and the real culprit could still be at large and armed and dangerous.More.
"We must get used to the idea that he was possibly not the perpetrator or that he didn't belong to the group of perpetrators," Germany's chief prosecutor Peter Frank told a press conference.
Police urged people to remain "particularly vigilant" and to report "suspicious movement" to a special hotline.
"We have the wrong man," an unnamed police source told Welt newspaper. "This means the situation is different. The real culprit is still armed and can commit further atrocities."
The man arrested on Monday night under suspicion of ploughing a 7-tonne truck through a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12, was named in German media reports as Naved Baluch, a 23-year-old asylum seeker of Pakistani origin.
Baluch has denied involvement in the attack, according to police.
He was picked up about 2 kilometres (1½ miles) away from the scene of the attack, near the Victory Column monument.
At least 48 were injured, some seriously, in the attack, after the vehicle mounted the pavement at about 40mph and crashed into them.
A passenger in the lorry – believed to be the original driver – was later found dead inside. German authorities confirmed that the passenger was a Polish national and that he was not the person in control of the vehicle, which belonged to a Polish delivery company, at the time of the crash...
They won't catch him. They won't catch the suspect. The dude will sink and blend in with the local Islamic community. They'll plan more attacks.
Oh boy Merkel screwed the pooch.
Los Angeles City and County Governments Pledge $5 Million to Illegal Alien Defense Fund
This isn't right.
I'm not against a legal defense fund. I just don't think local government should be paying for it.
Expect a backlash, that's for sure.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Responding to Trump, L.A. proposes $10-million legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation":
I'm not against a legal defense fund. I just don't think local government should be paying for it.
Expect a backlash, that's for sure.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Responding to Trump, L.A. proposes $10-million legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation":
Los Angeles city and county leaders on Monday unveiled a $10-million fund to provide legal assistance for residents facing deportation, the region’s boldest move yet as it prepares for an expected crackdown on illegal immigration by Donald Trump.
If approved by lawmakers, Los Angeles’ two top government agencies could find themselves in the position of using public funds to challenge policies sought by the White House and Republican Congress.
The fund represents another provocative pushback against the Trump agenda in heavily Democratic California, but outside legal experts said the local government agencies are likely within their right to use the money for these purposes.
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said the fund will ensure that there is “more fairness and more effectiveness in the immigration system.” He cited statistics showing that immigrants who have representation have a better chance at succeeding in court.
Still, some anti-illegal immigration activists criticized the move, saying it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars and interferes with the federal government’s immigration policies.
L.A. officials “should be focused on assisting the citizens, [not] taking tax dollars to pay for services to assist illegal residents countywide,” said Robin Hvidston, executive director of We the People Rising, a Claremont-based organization against illegal immigration. The money, she added, would be better spent on unemployed citizens, veterans, disabled and the elderly.
L.A. Justice Fund would receive at least $5 million total from city and county government. Philanthropic groups would donate the rest of the money. The California Endowment, the state’s largest private healthcare foundation, plans to give the fund $2 million, according to a foundation spokeswoman.
The legal fund, aimed at helping immigrants who can’t afford attorneys, follows similar efforts at the state and national level to provide protections for migrants...
Almost Half of U.S. Voters Not Sure Russia's Behind Election-Related Hacks
Makes sense.
No one's seen any actual evidence of Russian hacking.
See Morning Consult (at Memeorandum):
Still more.
No one's seen any actual evidence of Russian hacking.
See Morning Consult (at Memeorandum):
Almost half of Americans do not agree with the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that the Russian government was behind cyberattacks on the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, according to a new Morning Consult/POLITICO survey.Well, the public's perfectly reasonable about thing. Leftists not so much.
When asked to pick the statement that most aligned with their views, 46 percent of respondents chose one that said the U.S. can’t be sure who is primarily responsible for the hacking because tracing cyberattacks is complicated and because intelligence groups were wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In contrast, 29 percent chose the statement that said there was “near certainty” that Russia is responsible for hacking and that intelligence agencies had used advanced techniques to determine that the former Cold War adversary is responsible. A quarter said they didn’t know or had no opinion...
Still more.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Suspect in Berlin Christmas Market Attack Was Refugee - UPDATE
UPDATE: "Berlin Attack Suspect Still at Large; Police Admit Wrong Man in Custody (VIDEO)."
The death toll has risen to twelve, and reports indicate the suspect was a refugee from Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Oh boy, Merkel's in a world of human refuse.
At Fox News, "Suspect in Berlin Christmas market attack came to Germany as refugee, reports say."
Also at Blazing Cat Fur, "Let’s Not Jump to Conclusions… #Berlin." And Pamela's, "Berlin Jihad Truck Attacker was Pakistani REFUGEE."
Previously, "At Least Nine Dead as Truck Plows Through Berlin Christmas Market (VIDEO)."
The death toll has risen to twelve, and reports indicate the suspect was a refugee from Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Oh boy, Merkel's in a world of human refuse.
At Fox News, "Suspect in Berlin Christmas market attack came to Germany as refugee, reports say."
Also at Blazing Cat Fur, "Let’s Not Jump to Conclusions… #Berlin." And Pamela's, "Berlin Jihad Truck Attacker was Pakistani REFUGEE."
Previously, "At Least Nine Dead as Truck Plows Through Berlin Christmas Market (VIDEO)."
Deal of the Day: Intex Comfort Plush Queen Airbed
At Amazon, Intex Comfort Plush Elevated Dura-Beam Airbed, Bed Height 18", Queen.
Also, Logitech Harmony Ultimate All in One Remote with Customizable Touch Screen and Closed Cabinet RF Control, Works with Alexa - Black.
And, Save on Bushnell Best Sellers. More, Bushnell Michael Waddell Bone Collector Edition 4x 21mm Laser Rangefinder, Realtree Xtra Camo.
Plus, Up to 60% Off Holiday Gifts from Anne Klein. More, Anne Klein Women's AK/2390BKGB Diamond-Accented Gold-Tone and Black Ceramic Bracelet Watch.
BONUS: Tara Ross, Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College.
Also, Logitech Harmony Ultimate All in One Remote with Customizable Touch Screen and Closed Cabinet RF Control, Works with Alexa - Black.
And, Save on Bushnell Best Sellers. More, Bushnell Michael Waddell Bone Collector Edition 4x 21mm Laser Rangefinder, Realtree Xtra Camo.
Plus, Up to 60% Off Holiday Gifts from Anne Klein. More, Anne Klein Women's AK/2390BKGB Diamond-Accented Gold-Tone and Black Ceramic Bracelet Watch.
BONUS: Tara Ross, Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College.
Donald Trump Seals His Election in the Electoral College (VIDEO)
The biggest drama surrounding this whole thing is how the far-left has sought to destroy and delegitimize the process. It's never been disrupted like this.
But Trump's sealed his election with the vote today around the nation.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump officially gets 270th electoral vote, sealing his election as president."
And at the Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Wins Enough Electoral Votes to Become President."
And this is actually hilarious:
But Trump's sealed his election with the vote today around the nation.
At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump officially gets 270th electoral vote, sealing his election as president."
And at the Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Wins Enough Electoral Votes to Become President."
And this is actually hilarious:
Monday’s Electoral College proceedings drew a record number of votes for candidates other than Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton. That reflected the lingering deep divisions within the country that played out during an election season in which Mr. Trump won more electoral votes, but trailed Mrs. Clinton in the popular vote. At least seven electors defied the will of the voters in their states—a number not seen in roughly a century and a half.Still more.
Two Texas Republican electors cast ballots for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul. On the Democratic side, four Washington state electors refused to cast ballots for Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine. Three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, while one cast a ballot for Native American activist Faith Spotted Eagle. In Hawaii, one Democratic elector also cast a ballot for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In the vice-presidential vote, the Washington vote was even more unusual, with electors casting votes for a trio of female U.S. senators: Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Maria Cantwell of Washington, as well as Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine. Another elector cast a ballot for Winona LaDuke, an environmental activist. One Texas Republican voted for former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on the vice-presidential ballot. Another Hawaii elector also voted for Ms. Warren.
Several other attempts by electors to cast ballots for alternative candidates were unsuccessful. Democratic electors in Colorado and Maine tried to cast votes for Mr. Sanders. In Maine, the elector was ordered to vote again, while in Colorado the elector was replaced with an alternate...
Soner Cagaptay, The New Sultan
From Soner Cagaptay, a Turkish-American political scientist based in Washington, The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey.
Universal Basic Income in Finland
Well, I'm not sold.
The idea is that current welfare rules prohibit part-time workers from receiving benefits, but if you lift the rules and provide a basic income, that'll free up people to get out and work.
Okay, as long as the monthly checks aren't too big. If you give people too much money, they won't want to work. It's human nature.
Interesting, in any case, especially in how leftists just love it. There's a failure of capitalism, and all that.
At NYT:
The idea is that current welfare rules prohibit part-time workers from receiving benefits, but if you lift the rules and provide a basic income, that'll free up people to get out and work.
Okay, as long as the monthly checks aren't too big. If you give people too much money, they won't want to work. It's human nature.
Interesting, in any case, especially in how leftists just love it. There's a failure of capitalism, and all that.
At NYT:
Free Cash in Finland. Must Be Jobless. (Universal basic income, a bad idea.) https://t.co/tWXRPbLcTr— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) December 19, 2016
At Least Nine Dead as Truck Plows Through Berlin Christmas Market (VIDEO)
Well, it's not like I was expecting a slow news day, or anything.
There's video at Fox News, "Police: At least 9 dead after truck slams into Berlin market," and MSNBC, "Truck Runs Into Berlin Crowd, Many Killed."
Also, at USA Today, "At least 9 dead after truck slams into Berlin market."
At the Wall Street Journal, "Truck Rams Berlin Christmas Market, Killing Nine and Injuring at Least 50":
And at the Guardian U.K., "Berlin truck crash: 'suspicious person' arrested after nine killed at Christmas market – live: Unclear whether incident at Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz in which ‘many’ also injured is terrorist-related, according to reports."
Plus, at Telegraph U.K., "Berlin terror attack: at least nine dead, 50 injured as truck ploughs into crowd at Christmas market."
There's video at Fox News, "Police: At least 9 dead after truck slams into Berlin market," and MSNBC, "Truck Runs Into Berlin Crowd, Many Killed."
Also, at USA Today, "At least 9 dead after truck slams into Berlin market."
At the Wall Street Journal, "Truck Rams Berlin Christmas Market, Killing Nine and Injuring at Least 50":
BERLIN—A truck drove onto the sidewalk at a Christmas market in the German capital on Monday, killing nine people and injuring at least 50, police said.Also, at Pamela's, "Truck PLOWS into crowded CHRISTMAS Market in Berlin, 9 DEAD, 50 INJURED IN TERROR ATTACK."
A semi-trailer drove onto the sidewalk near Breitscheidplatz in Charlottenburg, a tony district in West Berlin, at about 8 p.m., a spokeswoman for the Berlin police said. After hitting the people, the truck swerved back into the street where it came to a stop, the spokeswoman said.
The circumstances of the incident weren’t immediately clear, but a security official said authorities believe it was a deliberate act. One person, suspected to be the truck driver, has been arrested, a police spokesman said on German television. A passenger in the truck died in the incident, he said.
The crash took place at the site of the Christmas market in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a popular site for tourists...
And at the Guardian U.K., "Berlin truck crash: 'suspicious person' arrested after nine killed at Christmas market – live: Unclear whether incident at Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz in which ‘many’ also injured is terrorist-related, according to reports."
Plus, at Telegraph U.K., "Berlin terror attack: at least nine dead, 50 injured as truck ploughs into crowd at Christmas market."
Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, Assassinated in Ankara (VIDEO)
Oh boy.
I'm just now logging onto the news, and it's not good.
There's video at Ruptly, "Turkey: Assassination of Russian ambassador caught on camera," and CNN, "Turkish media: Russian ambassador shot."
Also at ABC News, "Russian Ambassador Killed by Gunman RAW VIDEO."
At the Telegraph U.K., "Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov shot dead by police officer in Ankara who shouted 'Aleppo, revenge'":
Also at Memeorandum.
ADDED: At Pamela's, "“Allahu Akbar!” Jihad Assassin of Russian Ambassador was Member of Erdogan’s Special Ops."
I'm just now logging onto the news, and it's not good.
There's video at Ruptly, "Turkey: Assassination of Russian ambassador caught on camera," and CNN, "Turkish media: Russian ambassador shot."
Also at ABC News, "Russian Ambassador Killed by Gunman RAW VIDEO."
At the Telegraph U.K., "Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov shot dead by police officer in Ankara who shouted 'Aleppo, revenge'":
Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was shot dead on Monday by an assassin who told him: “We die in Aleppo, you die here.”More.
The gunman – an off-duty policeman – opened fire at an art gallery in Ankara as Andrei Karlov was making a speech, then stood triumphantly over his body shouting “revenge for Syria and Aleppo”.
Photographs taken by an Associated Press photographer who kept his finger on the shutter while others dived for cover captured the aftermath of a murder which Russia described as a “terrorist act”.
The murder followed days of protests in Turkey over Russia’s role in Syria as a backer of President Bashar al-Assad and came on the eve of talks in Moscow about the future of Syria involving Russia, Iran and Turkey, which will still go ahead today.
The Turkish foreign ministry insisted it would not allow the murder to “cast a shadow” over Turkey’s improving relations with Russia.
The killer was named on Monday night as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a 22-year-old riot squad police officer who has been based in Ankara for the past two years.
He shouted “Allahu Akbar” – God is great – as he pulled the trigger, but was unclear whether he was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or the rebels who have finally been crushed in Aleppo after four years of war.
Reports in Turkey suggested he recited a message in Arabic similar to a phrase associated with the rebel group Al Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda.
He was shot dead by police in a shoot-out that lasted 15 minutes. Three other people were wounded in the attack.
President Putin spoke on the phone to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the shooting and Moscow said it was “a tragic day in the history of our country and Russian diplomacy”.
Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, had entered a diplomatic crisis when the Turkish air force shot down a Russian jet in November 2015, but in recent months Mr Putin and Mr Erdogan have been in regular contact, and have held talks about a general ceasefire in Syria.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "We qualify what happened as a terrorist act. The murderers will be punished.
"Today this issue will be raised at the UN Security Council. Terrorism will not win out."
Also at Memeorandum.
ADDED: At Pamela's, "“Allahu Akbar!” Jihad Assassin of Russian Ambassador was Member of Erdogan’s Special Ops."
Poland's 'Neo-Dark Age' (VIDEO)
I swear, it's not the end of the world.
But for leftists, everything's crashing down. Populism is the same as Nazism to them, and they can't handle it.
Our best bet would be to just crush the left, then we wouldn't have to entertain all the progressive sky-is-falling hand-wringing.
At WaPo, "In Poland, a window on what happens when populists come to power":
Still more.
But for leftists, everything's crashing down. Populism is the same as Nazism to them, and they can't handle it.
Our best bet would be to just crush the left, then we wouldn't have to entertain all the progressive sky-is-falling hand-wringing.
At WaPo, "In Poland, a window on what happens when populists come to power":
WARSAW — The Law and Justice Party rode to power on a pledge to drain the swamp of Polish politics and roll back the legacy of the previous administration. One year later, its patriotic revolution, the party proclaims, has cleaned house and brought God and country back to Poland.The party's a little hardcore for me, but like I said, it's not the end of the world. If at least a third of the voters support them, then in fact we're looking a democracy in action. Call me back when Auschwitz starts firing up the ovens again.
Opponents, however, see the birth of a neo-Dark Age — one that, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, is a harbinger of the power of populism to upend a Western society. In merely a year, critics say, the nationalists have transformed Poland into a surreal and insular place — one where state-sponsored conspiracy theories and de facto propaganda distract the public as democracy erodes.
In the land of Law and Justice, anti-intellectualism is king. Polish scientists are aghast at proposed curriculum changes in a new education bill that would downplay evolution theory and climate change and add hours for “patriotic” history lessons. In a Facebook chat, a top equal rights official mused that Polish hotels should not be forced to provide service to black or gay customers. After the official stepped down for unrelated reasons, his successor rejected an international convention to combat violence against women because it appeared to argue against traditional gender roles.
Over the weekend, Warsaw convulsed in street protests amid allegations that the Law and Justice party had illegally forced through a budget bill even as it sought to restrict media access to Parliament.
Cheered on by religious conservatives, the new government has defunded public assistance for in vitro fertilization treatments. To draft new sexual-education classes in schools, it tapped a contraceptives opponent who argues that condom use increases the risk of cancer in women. The government is proffering a law that critics say could soon be used to limit opposition protests.
Yet nothing has shocked liberals more than this: After a year in power, Law and Justice is still by far the most popular political party in Poland. It rides atop opinion polls at roughly 36 percent — more than double the popularity of the ousted Civic Platform party.
“The people support us,” boasted Adam Bielan, Law and Justice’s deputy speaker of the Senate.
Still more.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sorry Global Warming Alarmists, the Earth is Cooling
From Peter Ferrara, at Forbes (via Sarah Hoyt, at Instapundit):
Climate change itself is already in the process of definitively rebutting climate alarmists who think human use of fossil fuels is causing ultimately catastrophic global warming. That is because natural climate cycles have already turned from warming to cooling, global temperatures have already been declining for more than 10 years, and global temperatures will continue to decline for another two decades or more.Keep reading.
That is one of the most interesting conclusions to come out of the seventh International Climate Change Conference sponsored by the Heartland Institute, held last week in Chicago. I attended, and served as one of the speakers, talking about The Economic Implications of High Cost Energy...
Amber Lee's Cold Overnight Forecast
Very chilly when I woke up this morning.
I wrapped up with a blanket, put the coffee on, and pumped up the central heating, heh.
Here's the lovely Ms. Amber:
I wrapped up with a blanket, put the coffee on, and pumped up the central heating, heh.
Here's the lovely Ms. Amber:
William Julius Wilson, When Work Disappears [BUMPED]
Professor Wilson's work is increasingly in vogue. Lots of folks are citing it, from J.D. Vance to Katherine S. Newman and Hella Winston.
I have a copy of the book on my living room bookshelf.
Time to crack it out again!
At Amazon, William Julius Wilson, When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor.
I have a copy of the book on my living room bookshelf.
Time to crack it out again!
At Amazon, William Julius Wilson, When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor.
Hunting Gift Guide
Heh.
For the holidays, at Amazon, Hunting Gift Guide - Sports and Outdoors.
And check this, UTG 547 Law Enforcement Tactical Vest, Black.
More, UTG Ambi 24/7 Cross Body Shoulder Vital Sling Pack, Black.
For the holidays, at Amazon, Hunting Gift Guide - Sports and Outdoors.
And check this, UTG 547 Law Enforcement Tactical Vest, Black.
More, UTG Ambi 24/7 Cross Body Shoulder Vital Sling Pack, Black.
Russian Supermodel Anne V Remembers 7 Years with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (VIDEO)
Now this is one Russian I can dig, heh.
Anne Sergeyevna Vyalitsyna for Sports Illustrated.
Indeed, she's been with the swimsuit issue for 10 years total, 2005–14.
Anne Sergeyevna Vyalitsyna for Sports Illustrated.
Indeed, she's been with the swimsuit issue for 10 years total, 2005–14.
'The Art of the Deal' Surging in Popularity Since Donald Trump's Election
Now a #1 Bestseller at Amazon, and among the Top 100 books.
See Donald Trump, Trump: The Art of the Deal.
Hat Tip: CNN.
See Donald Trump, Trump: The Art of the Deal.
Hat Tip: CNN.
Donald Trump is a best-selling author again. "The Art of the Deal" has skyrocketed in popularity since his election https://t.co/ML1yslDDcH pic.twitter.com/5ntiqkBHER
— CNN (@CNN) December 15, 2016
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