#WomensMarch Rule 5

I'm sure the leftist women's marchers will love some Sunday Rule 5.

At Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is a wonderful green space that should be paved over for a solar farm, you might just be a Warmist."

Also, at 90 Miles from Tyranny, "Morning Mistress," and "Hot Pick of the Late Night."

More, at Odie's, "Know That Beaver ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

At Knuckledraggin', "Your Good Morning Girl."

Goodsturr's, "GOODSTUFFs BLOGGING MAGAZINE (277th Issue) - Burlesque Queen Blaze Starr..."

Bro Bible, "Sexy Big Booty YouTuber Promises to Release Sextape Once She Gets One Million Subscribers," and "Pretty Sure That Kelly Brook’s Bikini Tops Here Are About Three Sizes Too Small for Her.

More, at Political Clown Parade, "Flowing Curves of Beauty."

Still more, at the Hostages, "BBF 2016 Championships."

Egotastic!, "Coco Loco Mamso on the Beach and Other Fine Things to Ogle."

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY," and "EMILY RATAJKOWSKI IN BED IN HER PANTIES OF THE DAY."

At WWTDD, "Sophie Marceau Goes Topless and Shit Around the Web."

And at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Sunday: Siren (from last Sunday)."

PHOTO CREDIT: MSFW on Twitter.

Been Offline

I've been offline all day, except for some tweets staring around 1:45pm.

I tweeted from the Crossroads Café earlier. Recall I blogged about it during Christmas break. The restaurant has the "Stronger Together" sign in the front window. It's definitely a safe space for triggered leftists, lol.

I do love the town's rustic feel, especially the Western ghost town storefronts. Is that kitsch Americana? Althouse would have things to say about that, I'm sure.

In any case, I don't care much about the Women's March, although I fully support the protesters' rights to march. Of course I don't love the anarchist black bloc riots, which in fact are intricately related the the Women's March, although MSM clusterfucks pretend there's a hermetically sealed difference between the movements. There's not. The only difference is honesty. At least black bloc leftists are out front about their tendencies. They'll "burn it down" with all eyes upon them. The women's marcher's would also like to burn it down, but if you confronted them with that fact they'd deny it, accusing you of being a PRISON PLANET PYSCHO!!

Plus, it was a fake news day. I mean, the debate was over crowd size and whether Press Spokesman Sean Spicer acknowledged greater attendance today than yesterday, or greater attendance to O's inauguration in '09 than yesterday? I've seen a few tweets to that effect, but Memeorandum has the controversy and it's stupid. (It's especially stupid that MSM hacks have turned whatever comments made into the TOTAL COLLAPSE OF THE REPUBLIC).

It's not just fake news at this point, it's shitty maudlin comedy. I dread following the news for these next few years. Purported experts and media professionals will race one another to the lowest common denominator of imbecility. Mark my words on that.

The biggest fact of reality that folks need to grasp is now Donald Trump's in power. The leftist Democrats are not. For two years that should be powerful rebuttal that anything stupid leftists attempt to snark. They get no Brownie points. Just remind them they're losers. They've been repudiated, and badly. Hundreds of thousand of pink pussy feminist cunts won't change at thing, despite idiot Ashley Judd's unhinged rantings.

Joshua Tree, it's like the Old West out here. #MAGA pic.twitter.com/tNjIwBMQzJ

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 21, 2017

'House of Cards' Season 5 Premieres May 30th, 2017

This is the weirdest thing, because my mom was streaming season 2 for a few episodes before dinner. She asked me if I still wanted to watch inauguration coverage on CNN and I said, "No, I'm good. I mostly wanted to see the parade..." So, she says she wanted to "watch her show," and the next thing you know I'm watching that über Machiavellian schemer Frank Underwood. (For those into the series, we just finished the episode where hottie Kate Mara's character gets thrown under the subway, literally.)

In any case, my mom went to bed so I thought I start watching at season 1, episode 1. I know what you're thinking: "Oh my gosh, you haven't watched it yet?!! My word, it's so good, blah, blah..." Well, the fact is, I try not to watch too many shows --- they take up too much time, time I should be spending reading books, which I see as a far more valuable recreational endeavor, considering I'm a professor and all that.

But what the fuck? My mom got me interested. So, I just finished the first episode of season 1, and right now I'm pausing for a few minute to get a refill of wine, take a leak, and check Twitter and the blog. And what do I find online? This teaser tweet from Netflix on the debut of season 5, due 5-30-17.

In any case, more at Variety, "'House of Cards' Season 5 Gets Premiere Date, Teaser."

The full teaser video's at the link.

I got to get back to bingeing. I'll have more blogging later, heh.

We make the terror. pic.twitter.com/VpChwGOSMj

— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) January 20, 2017

Unhinged Anti-Trump Protester Screams 'NO!' as Donald Trump Inaugurated as President (VIDEO)

Seriously, these people are nuts.

At Twitchy, "‘Can’t get enough’! WATCH: This anti-Trump protester’s meltdown is one for the ages."

The left's collective reaction to #PresidentTrump's #Inauguration lol. https://t.co/dOMYSRffA7

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 20, 2017

HAHAHAHAH #MAGA #Inauguration #ProtestTheInauguration pic.twitter.com/r8Hd0jHJlr

— ≠The Frog God≠ (@FrogGod14) January 20, 2017

National Park Service Retweets Far-Left-Wing Inauguration Posts on Twitter

Federal agencies are prohibited from partisan activities, particularly political support or agitation for one party or another (although rules on employee political contributions have been trimmed by court rulings).

So this looks improper, to say the least, via Hadas Gold:

National Parks Service …. 👀https://t.co/J5mtu3Anit pic.twitter.com/0CjAGcBvqD

— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) January 20, 2017

WATCH: Inaugural Address of President Donald J. Trump (VIDEO)

At the Washington Post, via Memeorandum, "Donald Trump's inaugural address: Full text as prepared for delivery."

Leftist heads are exploding at this address. I love it!

Leftist heads are exploding across the land. #Inauguration #DonaldTrump #MAGA

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 20, 2017

Custom Trump-Mobile

That's pretty wicked, heh.

A Palm Beach pastor is stopping traffic in DC with custom Trump-mobile https://t.co/TIm4hQvOJz pic.twitter.com/yBE385Ynfc

— AJC (@ajc) January 19, 2017

David Horowitz, Big Agenda

*BUMPED*

Horowitz's new book is in bookstores now.

And at Amazon, Big Agenda: President Trump’s Plan to Save America.

See also Truth Revolt, "Newsmax: Horowitz's 'Big Agenda' Reveals Trump's Coming D.C. 'Earthquake' - 'This book is a guide to fighting the opponents of the conservative restoration'."

The H2's Big Boob Friday Semi-Finals

These guys are the craziest.

Here, "BBF Semi-Finals V Redhead Edition."

Radical Leftists Sow Chaos Outside DeploraBall on Eve of Donald Trump's Inauguration

At the Washington Post, "Trump supporters, opponents clash outside ‘DeploraBall’ in downtown D.C.":

Officers deployed chemical spray as Trump supporters, opponents clashed outside "DeploraBall" in D.C. https://t.co/S18JtKk7IN

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 20, 2017

Clashes in United States Capitol between antifascists, police, and #Trump supporters the night before presidential #inauguration #disruptj20 pic.twitter.com/YS3bRR1ikz

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) January 20, 2017

Protestors: "We refuse a fascist America " pic.twitter.com/yOi08JjFyj

— Clarence Williams (@nu1wcf) January 20, 2017

Anti-Trump protesters jeered and screamed at supporters of the president-elect outside the “DeploraBall” at the National Press Club on Thursday night, in one case throwing an object that struck a counterprotester in the head.

D.C. police closed the 1300 block of F Street NW to motor vehicles as hundreds of demonstrators filled the roadway. Some protesters raised their middle fingers and shouted obscenities and terms such as “racist” and Nazi” at those attending the celebratory ball on the eve of Trump’s inauguration.

A small group of protesters in hoods and black masks set a fire in the center of the street. Another fire was set in a trash can. A different group used a floodlight and stencil to project the phrases “Bragging about Grabbing a Woman’s Genitals” and “Impeach the Predatory President” onto the side of the Press Club building. Others inflated a 15-foot-tall white elephant with a banner attached that said “racism.”

Officers directed chemical spray at the crowd multiple times, starting around 9 p.m., after protesters began throwing trash at Trump supporters who were leaving the building. During an earlier clash, a man was struck in the back of the head by a thrown object.

About a half-dozen D.C. police officers surrounded him and escorted him behind police lines...

RTWT.

New Regime

A great post, yesterday, from Mark Steyn:

A New Dawn, A New Don https://t.co/sFY6nCXFsH #SteynOnAmerica #TheMarkSteynShow pic.twitter.com/68LgPw34Hx

— Mark Steyn (@MarkSteynOnline) January 20, 2017

Evan Mawdsley, Thunder in the East

*BUMPED.*

Okay, I'm well into Alexander Hill's, The Red Army and the Second World War. (I'll have more on it later.)

And from the footnotes, some excellent books on the World War II era.

See, for example, Evan Mawdsley, Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War 1941-1945.

#Inauguration Day

The photo's from November 9th at the West Wing.

For some reason, it's just now going viral. But my god, look at those smug sum-bitchs, lol.

Click on the tweet to see the hilarious responses. I swear if Donald Trump's even a one-term president the schadenfreude's going to last a lifetime.

Photo of the Decade, right here pic.twitter.com/yC7EqDf9zy

— The H2 (@TheH2) January 20, 2017

'Don of a New Day'

An unusual symmetry among the New York tabloids.

It's going to be a great day, like a national holiday.

Now this is rare. They match. pic.twitter.com/AKqiYouMWC

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) January 20, 2017

Ivanka Trump Arrives in Washington

What a day.

I don't think I can stay up all night, heh.

I'm at my mom's house. She's going to wake me up just in case. Festivities begin early for those of us on the West Coast.

Arriving in Washington DC with my family. A very special moment! #MAGA #Inauguration2017 pic.twitter.com/whZxJdFiQ3

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 19, 2017

Democrats in the Wilderness

Big Fur Hat is pleased as punch with this piece, at Politco, "Inside a decimated party’s not-so-certain revival strategy":

Democrats in the Wilderness https://t.co/EH0W3PkpDl via @IsaacDovere in @POLITICOMag pic.twitter.com/EPv1UbFra4

— POLITICO (@politico) January 19, 2017

Standing with some 30,000 people in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia the night before the election watching Hillary Clinton speak, exhausted aides were already worrying about what would come next. They expected her to win, of course, but they knew President Clinton was going to get thrashed in the 2018 midterms—the races were tilted in Republicans’ favor, and that’s when they thought the backlash would really hit. Many assumed she’d be a one-term president. They figured she’d get a primary challenge. Some of them had already started gaming out names for who it would be.

“Last night I stood at your doorstep / Trying to figure out what went wrong,” Bruce Springsteen sang quietly to the crowd in what he called “a prayer for post-election.” “It’s gonna be a long walk home.”

What happened the next night shocked even the most pessimistic Democrats. But in another sense, it was the reckoning the party had been expecting for years. They were counting on a Clinton win to paper over a deeper rot they’ve been worrying about—and to buy them some time to start coming up with answers. In other words, it wasn’t just Donald Trump. Or the Russians. Or James Comey. Or all the problems with how Clinton and her aides ran the campaign. Win or lose, Democrats were facing an existential crisis in the years ahead—the result of years of complacency, ignoring the withering of the grass roots and the state parties, sitting by as Republicans racked up local win after local win.

“The patient,” says Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, “was clearly already sick.”

As Trump takes over the GOP and starts remaking its new identity as a nationalist, populist party, creating a new political pole in American politics for the first time in generations, all eyes are on the Democrats.

How will they confront a suddenly awakened, and galvanized, white majority? What’s to stop Trump from doing whatever he wants? Who’s going to pull a coherent new vision together? Worried liberals are watching with trepidation, fearful that Trump is just the beginning of worse to come, desperate for a comeback strategy that can work.

What’s clear from interviews with several dozen top Democratic politicians and operatives at all levels, however, is that there is no comeback strategy—just a collection of half-formed ideas, all of them challenged by reality. And for whatever scheme they come up with, Democrats don’t even have a flag-carrier. Barack Obama? He doesn’t want the job. Hillary Clinton? Too damaged. Bernie Sanders? Too socialist. Joe Biden? Too tied to Obama. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer? Too Washington. Elizabeth Warren? Maybe. And all of them old, old, old.

The Democrats’ desolation is staggering. But part of the problem is that it’s easy to point to signs that maybe things aren’t so bad. After all, Clinton did beat Trump by 2.8 million votes, Obama’s approval rating is nearly 60 percent, polls show Democrats way ahead of the GOP on many issues and demographics suggest that gap will only grow. But they are stuck in the minority in Congress with no end in sight, have only 16 governors left and face 32 state legislatures fully under GOP control. Their top leaders in the House are all over 70. Their top leaders in the Senate are all over 60. Under Obama, Democrats have lost 1,034 seats at the state and federal level—there’s no bench, no bench for a bench, virtually no one able to speak for the party as a whole.

“The fact that our job should be easier just shows how poorly we’re doing the job,” says Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, an Iraq War veteran seen as one of the party’s rising stars.There are now fewer than 700 days until Election Day 2018, as internal memos circulating among Democratic strategists point out with alarm. They differ in their prescriptions, but all boil down to the same inconvenient truth: If Republicans dominate the 2018 midterms, they will control the Senate (and with it, the Supreme Court) for years, and they will draw district lines in states that will lock in majorities in the House and across state capitals, killing the next generation of Democrats in the crib, setting up the GOP for an even more dominant 2020 and beyond.

Most doubt Democrats have the stamina or the stomach for the kind of cohesive resistance that Republicans perfected over the years. In their guts, they want to say yes to government doing things, and they’re already getting drawn in by promises to work with Trump and the Republican majorities. They’re heading into the next elections with their brains scrambled by Trump’s win, side-eyeing one another over who’s going to sell out the rest, nervous the incoming president will keep outmaneuvering them in the media and throw up more targets than they could ever hope to shoot at—and all of this from an election that was supposed to cement their claim on the future.

Some thinking has started to take shape. Obama is quickly reformatting his post-presidency to have a more political bent than he had planned. Vice President Joe Biden is beginning to structure his own thoughts on mentoring and guiding rising Democrats. (No one seems to be waiting to hear from Clinton.) At the law office of former Attorney General Eric Holder, which is serving as the base for the redistricting reform project he is heading for Obama, they’re getting swarmed with interest and checks. At the Democratic Governors Association, all of a sudden looking like the headquarters of the resistance, they’re sorting through a spike in interested candidates. And everyone from Obama on down is talking about going local, focusing on the kinds of small races and party-building activities Republicans have been dominating for cycle after cycle.

But all that took decades, and Democrats have no time. What are they going to do next? There hasn’t been an American political party in worse shape in living memory. And there may never have been a party less ready to confront it.

“We’re at a space shuttle moment,” says Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who is widely expected to run statewide soon in Georgia.

“The most vulnerable time for the space shuttle is when it re-enters the environment, so that when it comes back into the environment it doesn’t blow up. The tiles need to be tight. I’m concerned about the tightness of the tiles on the space shuttle right now. We have to get through this heat.”

Still more.

Blake Lively at the People's Choice Awards

At London's Daily Mail, "Blake Lively shows off her incredible post baby body at the #PCAs."

She's fabulous.

Leftists Call for Donald Trump's Assassination on Twitter

This lady's already been reported to law enforcement, and I guess she's wearing her threats (which won't be prosecuted) as a badge of honor.

As of this entry goes live, she's been retweeted 200 times:

With the amount of people who are disgusted by him, what makes him qualified to be our president? SOMEBODY ASSASSINATE HIM BEFORE TOMORROW!!

— Tracy (@tracypickerill) January 19, 2017

PREVIOUSLY: "Assassinating Trump Could Keep Obama in Power (VIDEO)."

ADDED: Scrolling through this woman's feed, she's wished death on Donald Trump before: "I hope he chokes on his chicken."

UPDATE: As you can see, the woman deleted that tweet, but the internet is forever:

HEy @DenverPolice maybe you should have a word with @tracypickerill . pic.twitter.com/Z07Unyc542

— JP Brown (@JPB209) January 19, 2017

Assassinating Trump Could Keep Obama in Power (VIDEO)

I don't like all this talk, and no, "assassinating Trump" wouldn't keep Obama in power. Mike Pence would become president if something happened to him, but why the speculation anyway? It makes me sick.

At Breitbart, "CNN: Assassinating Trump Could Keep Obama Administration in Power."

I seriously don't think we need news reports about designated survivors at this moment. Jeez.

BEYOND EVIL! #CNN assassinating Trump could keep Obama in power! https://t.co/w5fQGHUKi9 #Trump45 @realDonaldTrump @LouDobbs @seanhannity

— Lori Hendry (@Lrihendry) January 19, 2017

'Trump Is an American Hitler'

He's not, but these "refuse fascism" cadres are dead set on the idea.

I am literally praying my ass off tonight. I've been fearing something untoward happening tomorrow.

I watched the inaugural concert moments ago, and President-Elect Trump and his family were behind bullet proof glass. But then he got up to speak to the crowd! I'm like, he's out in the open! He's vulnerable!

I imagine there's more security in D.C. right now than there's even been in American history, even more on hand than there was for all of Barack Hussein's festivities. Will Trump get out of the presidential limo tomorrow and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue?

I imagine he will. I guess I just need to have confidence that the security is rock solid.

I blogged about the "Refuse Fascism" group earlier. Robert Stacy McCain posts a clear incitation to violence, which I can't see how that's protected speech, but whatever: "Come to D.C. Take to the streets. Do not leave with fascists in office."

Trump is an American Hitler. Ppl in the streets 2nite are standing on the right side of history. #TruthTeller #heroes #NoFascistUSA #FloodDC pic.twitter.com/IXauEo0kQL

— #NoFascistUSA (@RefuseFascism) January 18, 2017

The Democrats Love the Dregs of Humanity, and the Dregs of Humanity Love the Dems!

Heh.

It feels like the mother of all holidays today.

Tomorrow's the day we've all been waiting for since Barack Hussein was sworn in, and it can't come a second too soon!

Alas, the dregs of humanity will always be with us, and these particular dregs aren't the ones the Son of Man had in mind.

At the Other McCain, "The Worst People in America: Commie #DisruptJ20 Protests Led by Perverts":

"Democrats attract support from The Worst People in America ... and not by coincidence." https://t.co/O73jFLuGqV pic.twitter.com/o4LycjOEak

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 19, 2017

Democrats attract support from The Worst People in America — selfish and dishonest people, criminals and perverts — and not by coincidence. The Democrat Party’s policy agenda and rhetoric are deliberately designed to appeal to the worst impulses of the vile dregs of humanity...

Keep reading.

Lots of information there, including this tidbit: "There are reports that ex-Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta has been photographed meeting with #DisruptJ20, but for some reason the liberal media doesn’t want to pursue the story and connect the dots."

The link goes to a now-deleted Twitter page, which only heightens my interest on this, heh. Ima search around for a while to see if I can find more on that. Indeed, Democrats absolutely love the dregs of humanity!

Transfer of Twitter Presidential Accounts

Following-up from yesterday, "Donald Trump Establishes Twitter as Means of Communication for Future Presidents (VIDEO)."

From Hadas Gold, at Politico:

Another transfer of power happening tomorrow? The Twitter accounts. here’s a peak into how it’s happening via @MorningTech pic.twitter.com/eb836boGPZ

— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) January 19, 2017

Tony Smith, America's Mission

Democracy promotion has been our bipartisan foreign policy objective going back to the Wilson administration, according to Tony Smith, in his classic work on U.S. foreign policy history, America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy.

Frankly, for all of Donald Trump's bluster, I don't expect the U.S. to deviate much from its historic world role, even on democracy promotion.

It'd be great to get our NATO and East Asian allies to pay more of their fare share, but that's not the same as throwing them under the bus, as butt-hurt leftists would have you believe.

More later.

Nikita Coulombe, 'Why Feminism Wants to Dismantle the Family'

Here's Ms. Nikita, at Medium, "Like many isms before it (Communism, religions, cults), feminism seeks to dismantle the traditional family unit for its own gain. Why? To the ism, old loyalties are like bad habits interfering with an individual’s ability to pledge unwavering allegiance. Isms want control, but families tend to put family members and their needs before the demands of the ism, reducing the ism’s power and influence and therefore undermining its control."

“Why Feminism Wants to Dismantle the Family (long)” — Nikita Coulombe https://t.co/Ds1arZBOUX pic.twitter.com/nHfKow5FUy

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 18, 2017

This woman -> @NikitaCoulombe <- should have THOUSANDS of followers.

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 18, 2017

Hey Lefitsts, a Little Something for Your Butt-Hurt?

Heh.

Seen on Twitter.

Maybe everyone that is never Trump will find this helpful. pic.twitter.com/FomzdYzhgO

— Russian Hotties (@hottiesfortrump) January 17, 2017

Eliot A. Cohen, The Big Stick

*BUMPED.*

This looks outstanding!

See, Eliot A. Cohen, at Amazon, The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force.

Jackie Johnson's Flood Warning Forecast

The burn areas have flash-flood warnings, but otherwise it doesn't look too bad for my morning travel.

I'm heading out to my mom's later this A.M.

Here's Ms. Jackie:

Obama's Final Press Conference

Well, of course I didn't watch.

I've seen years-worth of corrupt media flacks hailing the great leader.

At NYT, "Obama Vows to Speak Out on ‘Core Values’."

.@MelissaTweets Image from today's Obama #PressConference: 'All hail oh great one!' pic.twitter.com/wMBSja2BkV

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 18, 2017

Vladimir Putin: Donald Trump's Leftist Attackers 'Worse Than Prostitutes' (VIDEO)

Well, that's for sure.

I don't normally endorse Old Vladdy, but I think he nailed it this time.

At USA Today, Telegraph U.K., and humorous Jeannie Moos CNN video below:

Putin: Trump attackers 'worse than prostitutes' https://t.co/RCpieZQvEy pic.twitter.com/JtGHj4rDZY

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 17, 2017

Vladimir Putin: 'our prostitutes are the best in the world, but I doubt Donald Trump would fall for them' https://t.co/KOXGkXCQvE

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 17, 2017

New Kendall Jenner Bikini Photo on Instagram

She posted it here.

Flaunt it while you got it, I always say.

At London's Daily Mail below.

(Hat Tip: WWTDD, "Kendall Jenner Bikinis Because It's What She Does and Shit Around the Web.")

Kendall Jenner steals the Kardashian spotlight with a racy bikini selfie https://t.co/MwuYrtXJ0X pic.twitter.com/7qejcfphQH

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) January 15, 2017

Donald Trump Establishes Twitter as Means of Communication for Future Presidents (VIDEO)

Donald Trump will continue to use his personal Twitter feed after taking office.

See Lifezette, "Trump Will Keep Using His Personal Twitter Account."

Now, the ladies on this morning's "Outnumbered" argued that Trump has (concomitantly) changed expectations for presidential communications in future administrations. Of course, this remains to be seen, especially since it's not clear that Twitter boasts a sustainable business model. Maybe'll the platform'll go out of business before too long.

We'll see, but those arguing that Trump should get off Twitter and "grow up" haven't grasped the fundamental transformation of politics in 2016 (into 2017 and beyond). Trump broke the normative expectations for how to win in modern politics. He not only goes over the heads of traditional media outlets (dead-tree dinosaurs), but he fights back when attacked, or when he's appalled at the terribly biased coverage. Leftists can't stand it. They still haven't grasped how badly they screwed up (and how badly they underestimated Trump's uncanny ability to tap into popular anxieties).

In any case, via Fox News, "How Trump Has Changed Twitter for Future Presidents."

Writing my inaugural address at the Winter White House, Mar-a-Lago, three weeks ago. Looking forward to Friday. #Inauguration pic.twitter.com/S701FdTCQu

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2017

Dinosaur Media Used to Roam the Earth

Heh.

It's Ben Garrison:

#fakenews #FakePolls Left lies! #Democrats Lost! #MediaLost #SoreLoser #Mediasaurus #CNN #BenGarrison #Cartoons https://t.co/Oj98iIxEAZ pic.twitter.com/RpHMxzARma

— BenGarrison Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) January 18, 2017

Lily Aldridge Intimates Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2017 (VIDEO)

The new issue should be out shortly.

Here's the fabulous Ms. Lily.

It's not too often she goes topless.

Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism

Robert Stacy McCain is constantly citing and linking this book, first published in 1979, when I was a senior in high school.

It's still in print, apparently.

I have an old pulp-paperback copy, but get yours at Amazon.

Here, Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations.

Is Lindsay Lohan Muslim?

I don't think she is, but there's lots of speculation.

See, the Telegraph, Robert Spencer, and Robert Stacy McCain:

Has @lindsaylohan converted to Islam? Star’s social media activity sparks speculation about her faithhttps://t.co/jsIwX8NiLq

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 17, 2017

Robert Spencer in The Hill: Lindsay Lohan may have made her worst life choice yet https://t.co/BtZNQU2E67 pic.twitter.com/ME49uMDe7n

— Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) January 18, 2017

Why Lindsay Lohan Is a Muslim Now: Understanding 21st-Century ‘Oikophobia’ https://t.co/k5SE2KvGfq pic.twitter.com/yDRbYiNzFf

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 18, 2017

Lindsay Lohan is a drug-addled celebrity dimwit from a broken home who was pushed into show business as a child. Like so many other former child stars produced by the Disney movie/cable-TV fame factory — including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus — Lohan’s young adulthood seemed to be a constant trainwreck of public shame, played out in tabloid headlines.

Lots of teenagers who aren’t rich, famous and beautiful struggle with similar problems — drugs, alcohol, sexual promiscuity, mental illness — but we never read headlines about those troubled youth unless and until they commit some horrible crime. Ordinary adolescent trauma cases don’t fascinate us the way the Troubled Starlet does, because the celebrity trainwreck is so ostentatiously blessed with everything our popular culture values — youth, wealth, beauty and fame.

Here was Lindsay Lohan, who had captured America’s hearts as a wholesome freckle-faced girl in Disney’s 1998 remake of The Parent Trap and who, at age 18, became one of the most promising young actresses in Hollywood when she starred in the hit comedy Mean Girls. She had everything in the world going for her, it seemed, but by the time she was 21, her career and personal life were in disarray. She broke up with her boyfriend, That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama, her movies flopped, and her substance-abuse problems escalated to the point that directors were no longer willing to work with her. Eventually, as it became obvious that she would probably never work again as an actress, the tabloids lost interest in Lindsay Lohan, and her brief stint in a “reality TV” show on Oprah’s network fizzled out in 2014, inspiring me to comment:

It’s wrong to say that Lindsay Lohan ever had a drug and alcohol problem. No, Lindsay Lohan had a Lindsay Lohan problem.

RTWT.

How Donald Trump Came Up with 'Make America Great Again'

From Karen Tumulty, at WaPo:

Wonderful (aka 'great') read by @ktumulty on how Trump saw his moment coming. HIs first thought: Brand it! https://t.co/OcJIoxsGzH

— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) January 18, 2017

“Make America Great Again.”

The four words that would help propel Donald Trump to the White House were an inspiration born years before, when hardly anyone but Trump himself could imagine him taking the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States.

It happened on Nov. 7, 2012, the day after Mitt Romney lost what had been presumed to be a winnable race against President Obama. Republicans were spiraling into an identity crisis, one that had some wondering whether a GOP president would ever sit in the Oval Office again.

But on the 26th floor of a golden Manhattan tower that bears his name, Trump was coming to the conclusion that his own moment was at hand.

And in typical fashion, the first thing he thought about was how to brand it.

One after another, phrases popped into his head. “We Will Make America Great.” That one did not have the right ring. Then, “Make America Great.” But that sounded like a slight to the country.

And then, it hit him: “Make America Great Again.”

“I said, ‘That is so good.’ I wrote it down,” Trump recalled in an interview. “I went to my lawyers. I have a lot of lawyers in-house. We have many lawyers. I have got guys that handle this stuff. I said, ‘See if you can have this registered and trademarked.’ ”

Five days later, Trump signed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in which he asked for exclusive rights to use “Make America Great Again” for “political action committee services, namely, promoting public awareness of political issues and fundraising in the field of politics.” He enclosed a $325 registration fee.

His was a vision that ran against the conventional wisdom of the time — in fact, it was “much the opposite,” Trump said.

“I felt that jobs were hurting,” he said. “I looked at the many types of illness our country had, and whether it’s at the border, whether it’s security, whether it’s law and order or lack of law and order. Then, of course, you get to trade, and I said to myself, ‘What would be good?’ I was sitting at my desk, where I am right now, and I said, ‘Make America Great Again.’ ”

Democrats slammed it.
To save itself, the Republican establishment was convinced, the GOP would have to sand off its edges, become kinder and more inclusive. “Make America Great Again” was divisive and backward-looking. It made no nod to diversity or civility or progress.

It sounded like a death wish.

But Trump had seen something different in the country, and in the daily lives of its struggling citizens...

Of course. Democrats "slam" everything. They're so hateful.

But keep reading.

Laura Ingraham Reacts to Leftist Tantrums Over Trump's Inauguration, Bradley Manning's Commutation (VIDEO)

From Hannity last night:

Flailing Democrats, Still Stunned, Unprepared for the Trump Era

A good piece, from Michelle Cottle, at the Atlantic:

#Democrats aren't ready for the #Trump Era: https://t.co/H427TQs0nq

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 18, 2017

British Prime Minister Theresa May Sets Hard Course for Brexit (VIDEO)

Hey, looks like an excellent plan.

At London's Daily Mail, the Telegraph U.K., and video from Sky News:

British PM #TheresaMay puts curbing immigration at heart of 12-point plan for leaving #EU. https://t.co/ohGPI4tN7M

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 17, 2017

"Ready as soon as UK is..."

How Europe's leaders reacted to Theresa May's Brexit speech https://t.co/p58WmpAP4R

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 17, 2017

As Theresa May set out her 12-point plan for #Brexit, she vowed to take control of the number of foreigners coming to Europe #MATTcartoons pic.twitter.com/b8GPW7qQzl

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 17, 2017

Wednesday's @Telegraph front page: pic.twitter.com/5VAGOvS6ua

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 17, 2017

Jackie Johnson's Heavy Rain Forecast

It's supposed to rain hard on Thursday, although I hope not too hard: I'm heading out to visit my mom in Yucca Valley for the weekend, to watch all the inaugural events, and so forth.

We'll see how the weather's looking Thursday morning, and I'll figure out what time I can get on the road.

Expect updates.

Here's the lovely Ms. Jackie:

Charles Krauthammer on President Obama's Commutation for Bradley Manning (VIDEO)

A great segment.

Dr. K. just nails it.

From this afternoon, with Martha MacCallum:

Protester Sets Himself on Fire Outside Donald Trump Hotel in Washington D.C.

At ABC 7 News - WJLA Washington, and from local witness Michael Shoag

#BREAKING: Man sets fire outside Trump hotel in D.C. to protest the President-elect https://t.co/YRtDB7VNmX pic.twitter.com/Ft6nTgvgtH

— ABC7News (@ABC7News) January 18, 2017

Self immolation in front of Trump Tower DC. Guy put out fire and walked to police. Crazy is the new normal in DC. pic.twitter.com/32gea1JpJP

— Michael Shoag (@MikeShoag) January 18, 2017

More at Gateway Pundit:

Report: Anti-Trump Protester Tries to Set Himself on Fire at Trump Hotel in DC https://t.co/QiXRmhNIxc

— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) January 18, 2017

Five Hours to Have the White House Ready for the Incoming President and His Family

The transition team is so meticulous they don't want the current occupant of the White House (Obama) to feel as though he's getting dumped out on the street for the incoming president (Trump).

It's pretty amazing. The best moving company in the world, or something, heh.

At NYT:

While incoming president attends inaugural events, crew of 100 transforms White House for new tenant. @juliehdavis https://t.co/cLoiyfv0Oa

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) January 18, 2017

D.C. Hairstylist Tells Marla Maples to Shove Off

Ms. Maples wanted free hare-care services (for herself and Tiffany, apparently) in exchange for mentions on Ms. Maples's social media feeds, and what not.

The hairstylist works for money and told her to shove it, heh.

At WaPo:

Marla Maples tried to get out of paying a local stylist to do her and Tiffany Trump's inauguration hair https://t.co/57OWrdv1Yu

— Emily Heil (@emilyaheil) January 17, 2017

Holly Sonders

She's nice.

At Egotastic!, "Holly Sonders Golf Hottie of the Year, Again."

And at the Heavy, "Holly Sonders: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know."

Introducing @Holly_Sonders, one of the Most Beautiful Women in Golf for 2017! Photos: https://t.co/swJdpwxT74 #MBW2K17 pic.twitter.com/1GLQyJmgA8

— GOLF.com (@golf_com) January 11, 2017

Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi, Bodyguard to Osama bin-Laden, Sprung in Obama's Latest Guantánamo Release

I'm shaking my head.

Seriously.

From Thomas Jocelyn, on Twitter:

1. DOD finally named 10 #Guantanamo detainees transferred to Oman.

9/10 previously deemed "high" risk by JTF-GTMO.https://t.co/iEgGkx81ye

— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) January 17, 2017

4. *BREAKING* One transferred GTMO detainee was Bin Laden bodyguard, may have been selected to take part in aborted 9/11 hijackings: pic.twitter.com/NDh7awWVLd

— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) January 17, 2017

Obama Commutes Sentence of Puerto Rican Terrorist Oscar López Rivera

I had to look this guy up, at Wikipedia:

Oscar López Rivera (born January 6, 1943) is a Puerto Rican nationalist and one of the leaders of the FALN. In 1981, López Rivera was convicted and sentenced to 55 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms, and conspiracy to transport explosives with intent to destroy government property. In 1988 he was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for conspiring to escape from the Leavenworth federal prison. Lopez solicited unincarcerated supporters to obtain weapons, grenades, and C-4 explosives for use in breaking him and fellow inmates – to whom Lopez had boasted about his leadership role in the FALN – out of prison. President Obama commuted Oscar Lopez Rivera's sentence on January 17, 2017. At the time he was the longest-incracerated member of the FALN.

López Rivera was among the 14 convicted FALN members offered conditional clemency by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1999, but rejected the offer. His sister, Zenaida López, said he refused the offer because on parole, he would be in "prison outside prison. Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, has stated that "the primary reason that López Rivera did not accept the clemency offer extended to him in 1999 was because it had not also been extended to fellow FALN prisoner Carlos Torres and Cordero Nananin." According to New York Times writer John Broder, López Rivera "refused to accept the President's offer to commute their sentences. Mr. Clinton demanded as one of the conditions of their release that the jailed Puerto Ricans renounce the use of terrorism to achieve their aim of independence for the Caribbean commonwealth." Torres and Nananin were subsequently released from prison in July 2010...

And further:

At the time of their arrest, López Rivera and the others declared themselves to be combatants in an anti-colonial war against the United States to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. domination and invoked prisoner of war status. They stated that U.S. courts did not have jurisdiction to treat them as criminals, and petitioned for their cases to be handed over to an international court that would determine their status. The U.S. Government, however, did not recognize their request...

Well, you can see why the dude's getting sprung. Obama loves terrorists, especially left-wing revolutionary terrorists. O probably idolized this guy. López Rivera has never expressed remorse for his "anti-colonial war against the United States." His terrorist group, the FALN (Armed Forces of National Liberation) was closely allied the Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist regime. Indeed, Charles Krauthammer suggested on Fox News just now that the release of López Rivera may have been part of a quid pro quo in the Cuban normalization deal. This is a presidential administration that normalizes terrorism.

Thank God we have less than three days until this hated regime, this reviled Obama regime, is driven from office.

Also at the Guardian U.K., FWIW, "Obama commutes sentence for political prisoner Oscar López Rivera: López Rivera, whose commutation was announced with 208 others, has been incarcerated for 35 years for his role in fighting for Puerto Rico’s independence."

Obama Commutes Bradley Manning's Sentence

Well, supposedly it's "Chelsea Manning," but he's a she now, if you're all into the transgender identity thing (and I'm not).

Perhaps because Bradley came out as as woman and attempted suicide while in prison explains the commutation. O's always an advocate for the "oppressed."

This news is breaking.

I saw it first on Mark Knoller's feed:

Pres Obama commutes sentence of Chelsea Manning, serving 35 years for stealing and disclosing government records. Commuted to May 17, 2017.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 17, 2017

And Althouse's shock at the president's decision, as well as all the comments there, "Obama frees Chelsea Manning!"

And at the New York Times, via Memeorandum "Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning's Sentence."

Expect updates.

National Teach-In Movement Called 'Teach, Organize, Resist'

This is literally criminal.

In California, the education code prohibits partisan indoctrination in public college instruction. These activities, starting at UCLA, are illegal.

At Campus Reform, "Profs pledge to 'use regular class time' to protest Trump":

“[Use] your classrooms...[to] protest policies of violence...segregation, and isolationism.” https://t.co/eDSwqvnqf2 #Trump

— Campus Reform (@campusreform) January 17, 2017

A national “teach-in” movement is asking professors to set aside class time between Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the presidential inauguration to “protest” oppression and challenge “Trumpism.”

The movement, known as “Teach, Organize, Resist,” is set to kick-off on January 18, strategically “poised between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the presidential inauguration” as an explicit means of “challenging Trumpism.”

Academics Plan 'Read In' of Michel Foucault to Protest Inauguration of Donald Trump

These people are insane.

But they're leftists, so you knew that.

At the Other McCain, "Academics Protest Trump With Public Reading of French Homosexual’s Book":

Foucault was a gay French philosopher who died of AIDS in 1984. His postmodern (or poststructural) philosophy was typical of the French Left in the decadent political and intellectual aftermath of World War II. The Communist Party was so powerful in France that, when the Kremlin wished to signal a change in the party line in 1945, the chosen messenger was Jacques Duclos, the Stalinist leader of the French Communist Party. It was the infamous “Duclos letter” that spelled the doom of CPUSA Chairman Earl Browder (who had sought to maintain the old Popular Front line) and ushered in the anti-American stance of Cold War Communism. The extraordinary influence of Communism in post-WWII France helps to explain why French intellectuals like Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were so consistently anti-American, a tradition to which Foucault was an heir, and which made him a darling of American academics, whose hatred of America is their intellectual raison d’etre...

Robert Stacy McCain should have a second career as a professor of political philosophy, heh.

Still more.

Syria Spotlights Impotence of the United Nations

This is great.

At Der Spiegel, "War and Peace: Disunity and Impotence at the United Nations":

The mandate of the United Nations is to preserve peace in the world, but when it comes to the Syrian crisis, the global body has failed badly. Will the UN's new secretary-general be able to finally introduce necessary reforms?

The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.
- Dag Hammarskjöld, UN secretary-general, during a May 1954 speech.

The man who, by simply raising his hand, prevented all efforts to end the war in Syria is sitting in a bunker-like room on 67th Street in Manhattan. Chandeliers are hanging above his head, a pendulum clock is keeping the time behind him and the furniture recalls Soviet-era filmography. "We have had this problem with Syria, of course, and ...… I (have) thought a lot about it," says Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations. An ironic expression on his face, the white-haired diplomat leans back in his leather chair.

Churkin is one of the men charged with saving the world. As absurd as it might sound, that is his job. The 15 members of the UN Security Council, in particular the five permanent members -- China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the United States -- bear "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security," according to Article 24 of the Charter of the United Nations.

It is a heroic task, an idealistic notion that was born out of the ruins of World War II: The peoples of the Earth joining together to protect the only planet we have. Uniting their strength, the world's countries hoped to create a better world, a place where all people can live in dignity. And the prerequisite for doing so is peace.

In 2001, the United Nations and its then-secretary-general, Kofi Annan, received the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." It is also thanks to the UN that nuclear war has thus far been prevented, that war criminals from former Yugoslavia were forced to stand trial and that we now have a Paris Climate Agreement, which is aimed at preventing the destruction of the world.

But what has been happening in Syria for the last five years is the opposite of peace: a proxy world war being fought on Syrian territory. It has called everything into question for which the UN stands. The images and the calls for help that innocent men, women and children have been sending out to the world via Facebook and Twitter are unbearable. And yet the world stands by, watching as though it were all merely part of a particularly long horror movie...

More.

Heh: 'Conservative Black Chick' Asks Rep John Lewis 'What Have You Done Since Selma?'

I love it.

At Instapundit, "A SPLINTERING COALITION? ‘Conservative Black Chick’ Asks Rep John Lewis ‘What Have You Done Since Selma?’"

The fact is, Lewis is a minor figure in the civil rights movement. I'm sorry he was beaten, but he's just been one sad cranky, corrupt and angry man, for so many years. I can't even listen him.

Mom and Daughter Terrorized by Turkey (VIDEO)

Don't run.

Those turkeys will chase you down like a mofo, lol.

At CBS News 2 New York:

Michelle Malkin: Hollywood Snowflakes Boycotting Trump Inauguration (VIDEO)

It's great to see Michelle back on Fox News.

On Hannity last night:

Yeah, Hmm...

Via Allahpundit, "Hmmm: FBI arrests Orlando terrorist’s wife in San Francisco..."

Yeah, that sanctuary city is for more than just illegal immigrants.

Also at the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "F.B.I. Arrests Wife of Killer in Orlando Mass Shooting."

Ruth Malhotra Pens Open Letter to Rep. John Lewis (VIDEO)

From yesterday's Fox & Friends:




And here's the letter, "Dear @repjohnlewis, I humbly request you not to boycott @realDonaldTrump's Inauguration..."

Kenneth N. Waltz, Theory of International Politics

The classic neorealist text on international relations, still in print.

At Amazon, Kenneth N. Waltz, Theory of International Politics.

A Sense of Uncertainty Grips the World

Such drama.

It's just a new administration. We had an election.

You'd think the world was coming to an end, or something.

At the New York Times, "As Trump Era Arrives, a Sense of Uncertainty Grips the World":

The Germans, angry. The Chinese, furious. Leaders of NATO, nervous, while at the European Union, alarmed https://t.co/APxXCr3dBZ

— Liebano Saenz (@liebano) January 17, 2017

LONDON — The Germans are angry. The Chinese are downright furious. Leaders of NATO are nervous, while their counterparts at the European Union are alarmed.

Just days before he is sworn into office, President-elect Donald J. Trump has again focused his penchant for unpredictable disruption on the rest of the world. His remarks in a string of discursive and sometimes contradictory interviews have escalated tensions with China while also infuriating allies and institutions critical to America’s traditional leadership of the West.

No one knows where exactly he is headed — except that the one country he is not criticizing is Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin. For now. And that he is an enthusiastic cheerleader of Brexit and an unaffiliated Britain. For now.

Mr. Trump’s unpredictability is perhaps his most predictable characteristic. The world is accustomed to his provocative Twitter messages, but is less clear about whether his remarks represent meaningful new policy guidelines, personal judgments or passing whims. In the interviews, Mr. Trump described the European Union as “basically a vehicle for Germany” and predicted that the bloc would probably see other countries follow Britain’s example and vote to leave.

Mr. Trump also said Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, had made a “catastrophic mistake” in allowing refugees to pour into Europe.

The barrage of inflammatory comments in joint interviews published Sunday and Monday in Britain and Germany elicited alarm and outrage in Europe, even as Ms. Merkel dryly characterized Mr. Trump’s positions as nothing new.

“They have been known for a while — my positions are also known,” Ms. Merkel said Monday in Berlin. “I think we Europeans have control of our destiny.”

Her clipped response came as officials and analysts struggled with how to interpret Mr. Trump’s remarks, as well as how to react to them.

Some argued that the president-elect’s words should be regarded as tactical, intended merely to keep his options open. But nearly everyone agreed that Mr. Trump had made trouble, especially in criticizing Ms. Merkel, given her importance as a figure of stability in Europe and her campaign for re-election later this year.

For good measure, Mr. Trump had also infuriated China by using an interview on Friday with The Wall Street Journal to again question China’s longstanding One China policy. It holds that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the mainland...

So, everybody wants Trump to play by the international system's Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

It ain't happening.

More.

Also, "As Inauguration Nears, Trump Keeps World Leaders on Edge."

Jackie Johnson's Cloudy Skies Forecast

It was perfect weather today.

I went skateboarding, heh.

Here's Ms. Jackie, back in black!

Jerry Orbach in Dewar's White Label Scotch Advertisement

Just saw the photo on Twitter, and then Googled.

At the New York Times, February 17, 1989, "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; 20 Years Of Dewar's Achievers":

PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT pic.twitter.com/VpbePgPiz1

— Sarah Marshall (@Remember_Sarah) April 9, 2016

''IT made me a Dewar's drinker,'' Jerry Orbach said yesterday, recalling his appearance 20 years ago as a young actor in the first Dewar's Profile for White Label Scotch. ''Any publicity is good when they spell your name right.''

Mr. Orbach was the first of 85 young men and women to appear in the ad, now one of the longest-running campaigns in the United States and a triumph for its creator, Leo Burnett U.S.A., the Chicago-based agency.

As it did for Mr. Orbach, the ad has persuaded many people to drink White Label. ''It helped the success of the brand in a soft market for distilled spirits,'' said Henry Yaris, United States business manager for Dewar's, ''and Dewar's became the leading brand of Scotch in the country.''

More.

Black Trump Supporter Walks Around New York City for 10 Hours, Discovers Leftist Intolerance (VIDEO)

Via Project Veritas, "Watch what happens when a PVA Journalist walks through the streets of Manhattan wearing a Trump T-shirt and hat."

Because leftists are so tolerant.

Lindsey Pelas #MLKDAY Selfie

At Drunken Stepfather, "LINDSAY PELAS FISHNET SELFIE OF THE DAY."

That's an unbelievable woman.

Anastasia Ashley Surfing Iceland (VIDEO)

Via Drunken Stepfather, "ANASTASIA ASHLEY IN ICELAND OF THE DAY."

Watch, "Anastasia Ashley in Iceland."

PREVIOUSLY: "Anastasia Ashley for Maxim."

Tucker Carlson and Jehmu Greene (VIDEO)

On Twitter, "Tucker Destroys Jehmu Greene: “Why Do You Always Bring It Back To Race?” (VIDEO)."

Also, "‘Unable to answer a question!’: Tucker Carlson clashes with Jehmu Greene (Twitchy)."

Watch, at Fox News, "Political strategist says suspicion of Russian hacking in the election was an attack on US democracy, agrees with Rep. John Lewis that Trump's presidency is illegitimate and sounds off on running for DNC chair..."

Not Much Legitimate About the Sore Loser Democrats

From Adriana Cohen, at the Boston Herald:

Since Donald Trump’s unexpected victory, Democrats have been trying to delegitimize his historic upset.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who sent shock waves through the media echo chamber this weekend when he said in an NBC interview, “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president. I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.” Former Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon went on CNN Friday to chime in as well.

Talk about a snow job.

Clinton didn’t lose the election due to alleged Russian hacking. She lost because she was a flawed candidate who ran a bad campaign. But facts always get in the way when you’re an out-of-touch liberal trying to play the blame game...

More.

Also at NewsBusters, via Memeorandum, "Reporters Plead with MLK III to Attack Trump; Did Lewis Tweets Shake You ‘To Your Core?’."

Oh brother.

Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63.

Trumpian Horrors

At People's Cube, "Trumpian Horrors Magazine."

Heh, "Trumpian Horrors." https://t.co/eVRZV4QLU9 pic.twitter.com/Kn1Owl6EDZ

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 16, 2017

Farm Girl Jen, 50-Year-Old Fitness Sensation with Rippling Abs, Become YouTube Star

She's in excellent, envious shape!

At London's Daily Mail, "Fifty-year-old farmer becomes a YouTube sensation after revealing the VERY unusual secret to her rock hard abs (and it's helping her rake in $100,000 a year): Jennifer King, from North Carolina, is known as Farm Girl Jen online."

David Hines 'Days of Rage' Tweetstorm

Okay, following-up from last night, "Watch for the Left to Become Even More Ruthless."

I found the thread I was talking about: It's David Hines, and it's now Storified, "DAYS OF RAGE, pt 1+pt2: The first and second tweetstorms about Bryan Burrough's DAYS OF RAGE and political violence in 2017."

Let's not mince words: the United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War.

— David Hines (@hradzka) January 14, 2017

BONUS: At the Other McCain, "Marxists Shut Down Campus Speech — Is Trump Inauguration Their Next Target?"

FLASHBACK: Barry Rubin, Silent Revolution

Since I'm blogging about all these violent crazy leftists, who worry me sometimes, here's a flashback to the late Barry Rubin's excellent book.

At Amazon, Silent Revolution: How the Left Rose to Political Power and Cultural Dominance.

Brian H. Fishman, The Master Plan

*BUMPED.*

A new book on Islamic jihad.

At Amazon, from Brian H. Fishman, The Master Plan: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory.

Watch for the Left to Become Even More Ruthless

Following-up, "American Radicals and the Change We Could Believe In."

I saw this long series of tweets, many with long individual threads, yesterday at Kurt Schlicter's. A couple of folks were linking Bryan Burrough, Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence, and suggesting that some similar "days of rage" might well be in our (near?) future.

Watch for the left to become even more ruthless toward anyone who refuses to maintain their line of absolute hostility toward our President.

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) January 14, 2017

I need to troll back through Schlicter's feed for some of the specific tweets. It seems some tweeps were even suggesting that there's current law enforcement and intelligence chatter to the effect of forthcoming political violence. But I'm not sure, so I'll come back with more if I can find it.

American Radicals and the Change We Could Believe In

As Obama's about to depart from office, there's virtually no signs that Democrats and progressives are tacking toward the center.

I spent a lot of time attending events on campus after the election, because as noted I genuinely feel for the students scared their parents will be deported. (I think folks should have information, at least so they'll understand how due process works and where to obtain legal assistance.) In one of the last ones I attending, the president of my union, with whom I've had my battles in the past, appeared positively energized by all the opportunities for radical left activism the coming Trump administration was likely to afford. And as I troll around on Twitter, especially clicking around on radical feminist feeds, etc., I'm forwarded to more and more sites and resources that throw off the same vibe. And American politics is so polarized I'm confident that unless Donald Trump has some very substantial successes, especially on the economy and jobs, he's very liable to becoming a one term president.

In any case, I read this piece at the Nation when it came out in early December, but never got around to posting it. If you check Katrina vanden Heuval's Twitter feed you'll get an idea of how febrile the radical left has become. (I'm also not discounting the possibility of political violence, but I try to put the thought of assassination out of my mind. It's just too horrifying, and I have a feeling with all the things coming down, there are some on the left who've seriously contemplated it.)

In any case, it's Eric Foner, who's now retired as a professor of history at Columbia:

Eric Foner on Obama -- American Radicals and the Change We Could Believe In via @thenation https://t.co/lPEBbzWHCL

— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) January 11, 2017

The Great Hate-Crime Hysteria

From Eric Felten, at the Weekly Standard, "Untruth and Consequences":

Impressed with this thoughtful look at the currently raging Hate War. https://t.co/85SWU4pZyA!

— Crazy Pastor (@thecrazypastor) January 15, 2017

Scottish teenager Kate Hume was no stranger to tragedy. By the time the great European powers hurtled into war at the end of July 1914, her older brother had already been dead more than two years: Violinist John “Jock" Hume was a member of Wallace Hartley's eight-man orchestra that had played on the deck of the sinking Titanic.

Just a month and a half into the Great War she received news even more devastating.

At the office in Dumfries where she worked as a "clerkess," Kate found herself with a pair of letters. The first had the signature of her older sister, about whom the last Kate knew was that she was working as a nurse in the English town of Huddersfield. The letter read: "Dear Kate, This is to say good-bye. Have not long to live. Hospital has been set on fire. Germans cruel. .  .  . My right breast has been taken away. .  .  . Good-bye. Grace."

The first letter was explained by the other, from one of Grace's fellow nurses, a Miss Mullard. "I was with your sister when she died," the letter said, explaining they had been together at a field hospital set up near the front at Vilvorde, in Belgium. The Huns attacked and burned the hospital, according to Nurse Mullard, killing over a thousand wounded men, including through beheadings. As for the nurses, the ones the Germans captured were grotesquely violated before being murdered. Grace was among them: "She endured great agony," the letter went on, detailing that counterattacking British Tommies had "caught two German soldiers .  .  . cutting off her left breast, her right one having been already cut off."

Kate shared the letters with the press. The story caused a sensation—covered not only in local Scottish papers such as the Dumfries Standard, but in London papers including the Pall Mall Gazette, the Globe, the Westminster Gazette, the Evening Standard, and everywhere in-between. The headline in the London Star was typical: "A NURSE'S TRAGEDY: Dumfries Girl the Victim of Shocking Barbarity."

With such widespread reporting, it didn't take long for Grace Hume to learn of her own grisly death. She saw placards up at the newsstand advertising the big headline "Terrible Murder of Huddersfield Nurse." She bought the local Post and, astonished by what she read, wired her father: "Reports untrue. Safe in Huddersfield."

Kate, it turned out, had made the whole thing up.

Jump forward a century and the case of the Mutilated Nurse has a newfound relevance. For we are in a new age of hoaxes, with frequent tales of Trump-inspired atrocities that have unraveled, as did so many of the stories of atrocities committed in WWI. Understanding the propaganda of the Great War may help us understand the motives and methods of the modern propaganda in what we might call the Hate War.

The Hate War got going in earnest in the immediate aftermath of the election with a raft of reports of malicious Trumpkins taunting and attacking young Muslim women, targeting them for wearing traditional religious head-coverings.

One of the most distressing of the hijab stories was that of Yasmin Seweid, who told police she was assaulted on the New York subway by marauding Trump supporters while fellow passengers did nothing, said nothing. The perpetrators were described as three drunk white men talking about Trump. "They were surrounding me from behind and they were like, 'Oh look, it's an f-ing terrorist,' " the 18-year-old Baruch College student told a CBSNewYork reporter. They pulled at her bag, breaking the strap. She said she begged to be left alone, only to be met with a torrent of abuse: "They kept saying 'you don't belong here, get out of this country, go back to your country.' " The men grabbed at her hijab, and her fellow straphangers, she suggested, were, in their cowardice, complicit: "Everyone was looking, no one said a thing, everyone just looked away."

The police didn't look away. They combed through the subway's security video looking for the men Seweid had described. They found none. Though the case was hugely publicized, no witnesses were found. Then, with the police looking to interview her again, Seweid went AWOL. When she finally turned up, "Suspicion," the New York Daily News reported, "went through the roof." Facing continued questioning by skeptical detectives, the young woman admitted she had been lying all along. The whole thing was a fraud. She was arraigned, charged with making a false report.

(If one thinks that a trifle harsh for a bit of youthful fibbing, it's worth noting that Britain, in the midst of war with Germany, prosecuted and convicted Kate Hume for her lies.)

Seweid's was hardly the only hijab hoax...

Of course not.

In fact, I can't think of a single confirmed hate crime committed by Trump supporters against Muslims or anything other progressive demographic group.

It's been all lies. Leftist lies.

But keep reading.

Matt Ryan and the Falcons Look Nearly Unstoppable

Lindsey Thiry yesterday, in real time, as well as Sports Illustrated after the win:

This Falcons team looks absolutely unstoppable.

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 15, 2017

If the Seahawks couldn't stop Matt Ryan and the Falcons, who can? (by @jjones9) https://t.co/rsBNzvQiOw pic.twitter.com/KpdZh4rMex

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 15, 2017

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also, at Theo's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Elmer Dud (CNN/BuzzFeed Fake News)."

Recent Storms Helped Southern California

But according to this piece at the O.C. Register, we're still not out of the woods, so to speak.

And check the photos and videos. I used to hang out at Hart Park. The storm channel doubles as a parking lot, when there's no winter storms, lol.

Here, "Recent rain gives glimmer of hope that drought could come to an end in California."

So, if SoCal's still in drought territory, how about Northern California? If the state's not catching enough runoff, who's to blame, man? Build more freakin' reservoirs, sheesh!

Recent rain gives glimmer of hope that the #drought could come to an end in Southern California https://t.co/JP2AHhgjM8

— Jessica Kwong (@JessicaGKwong) January 13, 2017