The suicide bombings carried out in London in 2005 by British Muslims revealed an enormous fifth column of Islamist terrorists and their sympathizers. Under the noses of British intelligence, London has become the European hub for the promotion, recruitment and financing of Islamic terror and extremism - so much so that it has been mockingly dubbed Londonistan. In this ground-breaking book Melanie Phillips pieces together the story of how Londonistan developed as a result of the collapse of traditional English identity and accommodation of a particularly virulent form of multiculturalism. Londonistan has become a country within the country and not only threatens Britain but its special relationship with the U.S. as well.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Melanie Phillips, Londonistan
Federal Staffers Panicked by Conservative Media Attacks
At Politico:
Obviously, the truth is making career staffers at State uncomfortable. That is not our problem. - @gastonmooney https://t.co/n1uTd9dtfP
— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) March 22, 2017
Three New Books on the Frankfurt School
Here we are:
* Peter E. Gordon, Adorno and Existence.
* Stuart Jeffries, Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School.
* Stefan Müller-Doohm, Habermas: A Biography.
And see the review, at the New York Review:
Samuel Freeman reviews three new books on the lives and ideas of the Frankfurt School https://t.co/hvQCb6baBl
— NY Review of Books (@nybooks) March 13, 2017
Sean McMeekin, The Russian Revolution
So, it turns out there's more such historiography on the way.
See Sean McMeekin, at Amazon, The Russian Revolution: A New History (out May 30th).
NBC's Matt Bradley Worried Westminster Jihad Attack Will 'Put Wind in the Sails' of 'Right-Wing Movement'
But see NewsBusters, via Ed Driscoll at Instapundit, "RIGHT ON CUE: NBC Reporter Fears London Terror Will ‘Put Wind in the Sails’ of ‘Right-Wing Movement’."
Five Dead, Dozens Injured in Westminster Jihad Attack at British Parliament (VIDEO)
Following-up from earlier, "Shots Fired Outside British Parliament."
At the Guardian U.K., "Parliament attack: police officer among five dead in 'sick and depraved' incident":
The Guardian understands the initial working theories of the police investigation are the attacker was inspired by Isis and was most likely a “lone actor”. The attacker’s identity was already known to counter-terrorism officials. Rowley said investigators were trying to establish the attacker’s associates and his preparations for the attack.Apparently, "police refuse to name" the suspect, and that's apparently after a number of outlets identified the wrong person.
See also Pamela's, "U.K. news outlets WITHDRAW claim that Abu Izzadeen was London jihad murderer."
More at the Telegraph U.K., "How Westminster terror attack had echoes of Brussels, Nice and Berlin."
#PresidentTrump Vindicated on Surveillance Claims
I've been saying this all along, and now here comes Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, indicating that some of President[-elect] Trump's communications were captured at Trump Tower during the transition.
At Bloomberg, "Nunes Says Trump Team Conversations Caught in Surveillance."
'ALARMED' AS DETAILS WIDELY DISSEMINATED... https://t.co/Y49xQXb9Ld— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) March 22, 2017
Hot New Releases, Updated Hourly
Also, Richard Slotkin, The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800–1890.
Bernard DeVoto, The Course of Empire.
And, Dale L. Morgan, Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West.
Allan Nevins, Frémont: Pathmarker of the West.
More, Robert M. Utley, A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific.
Richard White, "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own": A New History of the American West.
Plus, Anne F. Hyde, Empires, Nations, and Families: A New History of the North American West, 1800-1860.
BONUS: ICYMI, Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West.
Shots Fired Outside British Parliament
#BREAKING: Man shot by police outside Parliament. More details to follow. pic.twitter.com/aa8IVWpj5k
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
A policeman is understood to have shot an intruder three times at close range outside the Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/9f0qNpsg5z
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
Westminster in lockdown: Two people were seen lying within Old Palace Yard, immediately outside Westminster Hall https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/bGimxJPOKR
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
At least a dozen injured people on Westminster Bridge near UK parliament, a Reuters photographer reports https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/CJ86cc6W5a
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
Scotland Yard said it was called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge amid reports of several people injured https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/u9tQKvqXfj
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
An Air Ambulance outside the Palace of Westminster after an armed man was 'shot dead by police' https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/mmiFRk8bwP
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
Major security alert under way at Palace of Westminster: man reportedly shot by police outside Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/h3TCjMMn6v
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
House of Commons Leader David Lidington tells MPs a "police officer has been stabbed" and the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police" pic.twitter.com/dSvn86qdGD
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
The scene on Westminster Bridge. A major security alert is under way at the Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq https://t.co/6jtXVsNJat
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
Staff inside Westminster were told to stay in their offices and the PM was reportedly bundled away from parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/lp44TdIfrY
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017
We'll see if it was a vehicle jihad attack, but it's best not to speculate until more information becomes available.
ADDED: The headline at Daily Mail's calling it a "terrorist attack."
Police shoot 'knife wielding man' outside Parliament after car mows down five people on Westminster Bridge https://t.co/H6XQNCZRrs pic.twitter.com/QgEoj8PKs0
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) March 22, 2017
MORE: It's a very bad situation:
Looks like they have stopped CPR on the intruder at Parliament
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017
Intruder has been lifted onto stretcher and is being put in ambulance
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017
A blanket has been put over person down who we think was police officer. First aiders have stopped treating them
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017
Ambulance carrying intruder has left Parliament. The body of the person we think was police officer is dead, body covered by red blanket
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017
Commons tannoy: "Due to security incident all buildings have been locked down - please stay in current location until further notice"
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017
NEW: Metropolitan police say they're treating firearms incident "as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise." https://t.co/6ilOxFEvKs pic.twitter.com/XyEqRPnyRV
— ABC News (@ABC) March 22, 2017
UPDATE:
#ParliamentAttack: "Witnesses describe 'Asian guy' in his 40s carrying eight-inch long knife": https://t.co/Z4TZ1k6Y0Q
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 22, 2017
I've got to get in the shower and head to work. Folks in Britain call Pakistani Muslims "Asians," so you can see where this is going. More tonight.
Vandalism of Vietnam War Memorial in Venice (VIDEO)
Jeez, this is despicable.
At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Sears, Roebuck & Company, Circling the Drain
At USA Today:
#Sears owner says 'substantial doubt' it can stay in business: https://t.co/tJ5nYp8om3
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 22, 2017
Hannah Jeter Takes It Off (VIDEO)
At Sports Illustated.
Yoshiko Uchida, Desert Exile
Here, Yoshiko Uchida, Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family.
Don't Pay Attention to Fake News
"What's that crumbling noise?" #FakeNewsMedia @CNN the most Distrusted Name in News.. #BenGarrison #cartoons at https://t.co/x1pNN6ymoT pic.twitter.com/zrDJhZDV7W
— BenGarrison Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) March 21, 2017
ICYMI: Fergus Bordewich, Killing the White Man's Indian
At Amazon, Fergus Bordewich, Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Wow! Thanks to the Reader Who Bought the NordicTrack T 6.5 S Treadmill!
That doesn't happen too often.
So, I want to thank the reader who picked up the NordicTrack T 6.5 S Treadmill, costing almost as much as the bunk bed, and which will bring an almost $32.00 commission --- enough to pay for the average book purchase I make on Amazon.
Thanks again!
And remember, readers can support this blog at no extra cost to themselves. I've always got a few Amazon links at the sidebar, and of course I've been posting book links like crazy for the past few months.
And here, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs, & More!
More blogging tonight!
Richard J. Evans Reviews Volker Ullrich's, Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939
Frankly, I wasn't so sure there was much new to be told about the life of Adoph Hitler, but I'm always open to persuasion.
So, while I'm not a fan of the Nation and rarely link it, this Richard J. Evans reveiw, of Volker Ullrich's new biography of Hitler, calls for an exception. See, "A Warning From History: A new biography of Hitler reminds us that there is more than one way to destroy a democracy."
It's good. RTWT.
And the Ullrich volume is here, at Amazon, Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939.
There is more than one way to destroy a democracy. @RichardEvans36 on Volker Ullrich's new biography of Hitler https://t.co/f0cxQtlvTH— The Nation Bks_Arts (@BooksandtheArts) March 16, 2017
New Lanes Open on 91 Freeway in Corona (VIDEO)
Some folks don't seem too ecstatic.
At the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "91 Freeway toll lanes now open, but is traffic any better?"
And at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Young Turks' Ana Kasparian in Tizzy About Liz Wheeler (VIDEO)
ICYMI: KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor, Jr., The Campus Rape Frenzy
You gotta stay on your toes.
Read KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor, Jr., via Amazon, The Campus Rape Frenzy: The Attack on Due Process at America’s Universities.
Ivanka Trump to Get West Wing Office
What a lady!
Ivanka now has an official office in the West Wing next to Powell, getting a security clearance + gov-issued phone: https://t.co/pUvRxreSdC
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) March 20, 2017
I normally hate this genre of tweets, but: imagine if Chelsea Clinton got a West Wing office https://t.co/VJqh2Ouv0Y
— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) March 20, 2017
If Hillary had won, she probably would have had one. https://t.co/2DqYvh0G7i
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) March 20, 2017
Democrats Still Haven't Faced Their God Problem
Democrats still haven't faced their God problem https://t.co/Aivj3h2S3Q via @nypost
— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) March 20, 2017
PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic Party has a God problem.Washo and Chism need to get real: The Democrats are a Marxist party. They've doctrinally abandoned God as a matter of ideology and politics. Any outward expression of faith on the part of Democrat office-seekers is artifice. I mean, c'mon. Abortion politics, to mention just one policy item, is predicated on the rejection of moral values and Biblical teaching: Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations..."
And over the last couple of decades, as its base became more educated, less religious and more urban, this problem has only grown.
Some of this has to do with lower church attendance in cities versus rural areas, and the Democratic Party’s increasing reliance on urban voters. Some of it is the divisiveness of social or cultural issues like abortion and gay marriage. And the divide has seemingly sapped Democrats’ ability to communicate to religious Americans.
Especially if those people of faith are white, according to Brad Chism, a longtime and respected Democratic strategist based in Mississippi.
“And that problem extends to the national media, who by and large are mostly Democrats, meaning you have these powerful forces who do not understand more than half of the people in this country,” he said.
Chism makes a crucial point about what this means for American politics: Some of the greatest moral advancements in our country’s history have been accomplished largely through the influence of the church and churchgoing people, especially through the 20th century.
“You look at women’s suffrage, civil rights, the abolition of slavery and all of these massive other changes — religion and religious people have played a role in moving society toward a higher plane,” said Chism.
“We’ve seen that recently as well, but a lot of progressives and liberal Democrats don’t see the role of religion in society, and that is a big mistake,” he said.
And it’s a mistake people like Kevin Washo are trying to rectify, though they feel like they’re swimming against the tide. A day before the Democratic National Convention opened here last July, Washo, a Catholic and prominent national Democrat, organized a private Mass led by a Jesuit priest in the conference room of a prestigious law firm in a shimmering Market Street skyscraper.
That imagery is a far cry from the 2012 Democratic convention, when the hall exploded in turmoil as Democrats voted to amend their party’s platform to include the word “God.” The platform initially had dropped previous platform language that referenced God. After an outcry, convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa returned to the stage to take a floor vote on a motion to reinsert the language.
The floor vote quite clearly failed as Villaraigosa repeated the roll call. Eventually he declared that “the ayes have it,” and loud boos exploded across the arena.
The headlines that came out of that debacle — “Democrats boo God” was a common one — ended up making matters worse for those, like Washo and Chism, who would like to see their party counter the perception of its estrangement from people of faith...
A leopard doesn't change its spots. The Democrats won't change theirs.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Jeff Bezos Looks a Little Too Happy Piloting a Giant Mechanical Robot (VIDEO)
Actually, he's much more menacing than Ripley in "Alien." He's more like Obadiah Stane in "Iron Man."
At the Verge.
That's a nasty mechanical robot. Big, huge, and menacing.
@JeffBezos "Why do I feel so much like #sigourneyweaver ?" @amazon #MARS2017 #openpodbaydoors 😬🤓 pic.twitter.com/HRRzmQtZbh
— Caleb Harper (@calebgrowsfood) March 20, 2017
ICYMI: Scott Greer, No Campus for White Men
At Amazon, Scott Greer, No Campus for White Men: The Transformation of Higher Education into Hateful Indoctrination.
Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight
So, of course that got me searching around for stuff on the war; there's a load of great books on the topic!
I'll have more later, but this is great.
At Amazon, Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815.
Barrett Tillman, On Wave and Wing
I love this!
Student Leader Who Tweeted 'Jews Will Get What's Coming to Them' Rails Against Exposure as 'Islamophobic Smear Campaign'
Reminds me of scriptural verse, "Therefore, by their fruits you will know them."
At Blazing Cat Fur.
Kendall Jenner La Perla Lingerie Photoshoot
BONUS: "DIONI TABBERS BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH OF THE DAY":
I am a fan of Dioni Tabbers. I don’t really know all that much about her, other than the fact that she doesn’t really have much of a following, considering she’s been getting naked for photoshoots for at least 4 years…at least according to my documenting of her getting naked -> LINK HERE BUT TOO LAZY TO GO FIND IT.Heh.
'Cuckold Stands by Wife' After She Cheats with 14-Year-Old Boy
That's a harsh headline.
Maybe the dude just loves his wife and practices Christian forgiveness.
That said, being "cuck" is kind of a thing these days, lol.
At the New York Post:
A husband stood by his wife after her affair with a middle school kid https://t.co/PFojR41y7T pic.twitter.com/xe5rP3p8P3
— New York Post (@nypost) March 20, 2017
Former Student Making Allegations Against #NeilGorsuch Has Ties to Obama, Democrats
Totally disgusting.
The accuser's a partisan Democrat hack, and NPR tried to walk back its initial botched hit job. Too late though. You can't clean up that sleaze once you spread it.
Fmr law student: Neil Gorsuch told ethics class firms should ask female applicants if they plan to have children https://t.co/e3mZtg2HNm
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) March 20, 2017
former law student of Gorsuch claims he said women manipulate employers by not disclosing plans to become pregnant https://t.co/9EIByGZeAI
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) March 20, 2017
.@michellemalkin @JammieWF now @NPR trying to walk it back, too late, they published a flimsy hit piece and should be held accountable pic.twitter.com/Z3Z573jcEy
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) March 20, 2017
Minor detail. "Former Female Student Making Allegations Against Gorsuch Has Ties to Obama, Democrats" https://t.co/xp50t0RsTo
— Kelsey Harkness (@kelseyjharkness) March 20, 2017
I've Finished Allan Eckert's, The Frontiersmen
I've got to plow through chapter after chapter when I'm reading big tomes like this one, mostly because I've got to get on to my next book.
I read most of the day yesterday, except to watch UCLA in the March Madness tournament (against Cincinnati).
In any case, Eckert can't be recommended too highly. Indeed, I'm going to start on book two of his "Narratives of America" series after not too long.
At Amazon, Allan Eckert, The Frontiersmen: A Narrative.
And don't miss others in the series, Wilderness Empire: A Narrative; The Conquerors; The Wilderness War; Gateway to Empire; and Twilight of Empire.
Thanks for your support.
Police Hassle Tommy Robinson at 'Anti-Racism' March in London (VIDEO)
Chuck Berry, One of the 'Founding Fathers' of Rock 'n' Roll, Dies at 90 (VIDEO)
Chuck Berry was a dynamic force on the frenzied rock 'n' roll tours of the 1950s. He died at age 90. https://t.co/VfHehF0JOT pic.twitter.com/hKIqo7bXsJ— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 18, 2017
RIP Chuck Berry. The 1st song that @thebeatles performed at their 1st US concert was "Roll Over Beethoven."— George Harrison (@GeorgeHarrison) March 19, 2017
Watch: https://t.co/rFyPCranEw pic.twitter.com/8JSgALNjDY
BONUS: At CBS This Morning, "Music world remembers Chuck Berry."
I blogged about him on his birthday, in October, "'Johnny B. Goode'."
Chloé Valdary
She's a really good lady.
The Gorsuch Confirmation Hearing
It's Showtime: Leonard A. Leo Previews the Gorsuch Confirmation Hearing https://t.co/1uCK4TJnvD— The Weekly Standard (@weeklystandard) March 20, 2017
Also, at HuffPo, via Memeorandum, "Democrats May Be Botching This Supreme Court Confirmation Fight."
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Lisbeth Haas, Saints and Citizens
This one looks excellent.
At Amazon, Lisbeth Haas, Saints and Citizens: Indigenous Histories of Colonial Missions and Mexican California.
Elliott West, The Contested Plains
At Amazon, Elliott West, The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado.
Incredibly High Public Knowledge of the Supreme Court!
At Hot Air, "Yeesh: Just 43% can name a single justice on the Supreme Court."
RELATED: At LAT, "Senate battle over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch."
Senate battle over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has been relatively mild, but that's about to change https://t.co/hNHOf7ShRo pic.twitter.com/i2BBSPtnt5— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 19, 2017
Sunday Sabine Rule 5
At Pirate's, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is a world both drying out from carbon pollution, creating sand everywhere, and flooding, you might just be a Warmist."
Drunken Stepfather, "Steplinks of the Day," and "Agent Provocateur Sugar Baby Bikinis with Lambos of the Day."
At WWTDD, "SI's Definition of Full Bodied Just Got Much Better and Shit Around the Web."
Bro-Bible, "50 of the Sexiest, Must-See Instagram Pictures on the Internet Today."
90 Miles from Tyranny, "Morning Mistress." Bonus, "Watch what happens at 0:25, when two trapped swans notice two humans. The swans knew the humans were their last hope, so they asked them for help!!"
Goodstuff's, "GOODSTUFFs BLOGGING MAGAZINE (284th Issue), with Senta Berger!"
At Odie's, "Ivanka ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."
Plus, the Hostages, "Big Boob Friday."
Still more, at Linkiest, "40 Hottest Instagram Pics of Jem Wolfie."
From last week, at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Sunday: Whitewashing the Cyborg."
A View from the Beach, "Rule 5 Saturday - A Dutch Treat - Valerie van der Graaf."
At Proof Positive, "Friday Night Babe: Ashley Moore!"
A Slice of Cheesecake, "Valerie Hobson."
More, at Knuckledraggin', "Your Good Morning Girl"
Watch, at Playboy, "Yep, This Is Why Kennedy Summers Is Playmate of the Year 2014."
BONUS: Beth Lilly.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Edmund Wilson, Apologies to the Iroquois
I picked up a used copy.
And the book's available at Amazon, Edmund Wilson, Apologies to the Iroquois: With a Study of the Mohawks in High Steel, by Joseph Mitchell.
Also at the New Yorker, "APOLOGIES TO THE IROQUOIS (OCTOBER 17, 1959 ISSUE)."
Wilson was a very interesting fellow. He published To the Finland Station, a study on "the course of European socialism," in 1940 (and much more).
John Gillingham, Medieval Britain
At Amazon, John Gillingham, Medieval Britain: A Very Short Introduction.
Poll: Most Young Americans See Donald Trump as Illegitimate President
Besides, it's at the Associated Press, heh.
See John Sexton, at Hot Air, "Poll: Majority of 18-30 year olds see Trump as an illegitimate president."
Mariah Carey Busts Out the Big Green Jugs for St. Patrick's Day
Not kidding.
At London's Daily Mail, "Mariah Carey puts on a VERY busty display in plunging PVC dress as she celebrates St Patrick's Day with beau Bryan Tanaka and children Moroccan and Monroe."
Mariah Carey puts on a VERY busty display while celebrating St Patrick's Day https://t.co/s0WX7T28uw pic.twitter.com/1hUn4TEPZM— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) March 18, 2017
Britney Spears Shows Off Two Skin-Tight Cocktail Dresses, Asks Instagram to Choose Which One's More Flattering
Besides, I'm not on Instagram, heh.
At London's Daily Mail, "Strutting her stuff! Britney Spears models two thigh-skimming dresses and asks Instagram to choose the winner."
Britney Spears models two thigh-skimming dresses and asks Instagram to choose the winner https://t.co/KZjcQl8DXO pic.twitter.com/aaRo419coP— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) March 18, 2017
Mayim Bialik Takes on Linda Sarsour
What started all of this is a piece at the Nation (where else?), "Can You Be a Zionist Feminist? Linda Sarsour Says No."
‘Big Bang Star’ Mayim Bialik takes on Linda Sarsour’s anti-Zionist slur https://t.co/UdQuX3IU50— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) March 18, 2017
#LindaSarsour Highjacking #Feminist Movement, push Anti #Israel, #BDS Movement: wants women to attack Israel. #Islamic Left must be stopped pic.twitter.com/ORkBllpv4S— Ben (@benghand) March 18, 2017
#MayimBialik Contradicts Anti-#Israel #LindaSarsour: #Zionism, #Feminism Don’t Mix. Sarsour using feminism for #Islamic #Palestinian agenda pic.twitter.com/AjJpywaDxv— Ben (@benghand) March 18, 2017
Frank Waters, Book of the Hopi
I picked up a copy [a few weeks back], to continue my reading on Native Americans.
This old tome is still available, at Amazon, Frank Waters, Book of the Hopi.
Scary West Virginia Newspaper Cover
But I gotta say, Chris Cillizza's got a point:
This West Virginia newspaper front page should scare Republicans https://t.co/rSockUQ8aG pic.twitter.com/u7xwy5Fat9— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) March 17, 2017
Tomi Lahren's Pro-Choice?
Sure, she's a little too cock-sure about everything. Sometimes she comes off as superficially informed. But when I saw her speak at Comic Con last June, I noticed that she seems kinda mean. She didn't come off as a friendly sympathetic figure. Not at all. Mind you, she took the stage alongside Mary Katharine Ham, who's the nicest lady you'd ever want to meet -- and a smart-as-hell conservative who held her own against blowhard Bill O'Reilly on Fox News for years -- so yeah, Lahren might have had a little competition in that regard. But she just exuded meanness nevertheless.
After the panel, fawning young conservative women swarmed the podium, many of them attempting to get near Ms. Tomi, to get a selfie or even perhaps exchange business cards, or phone numbers, or whatever it is young hipsters exchange these days. I would have liked to say hello, to give Ms. Tomi kudos on her considerably impressive record of conservative commentary. But on second thought I said nah. She seems mean, as noted, but she also came off as stuck up. You know, she's the hot blonde chick you wanted to go out with in high school but would never have been given you so much as the time of day had you approached her. If a young hotsie-totsie like this deigned to speak to you during high school it was most likely for you to get the hell out of the way, you beta male nincompoop. So with that, I made off into the convention hall, not to worry about it too much. I'd scored a couple of photos of the woman's phenomenal legs, so I guess that was an added bonus of attendance.
So now here comes Truth Revolt with the report that Ms. Tomi's pro-choice? WTF?!! You can't be conservative and be pro-choice. It's like you can't be an all-American male and not like women in bikinis. It's just not a thing.
Well, I guess it is, for the young so-called conservative Ms. Tomi.
See, "'Conservative' Tomi Lahren's Pro-Abortion Stance Pleases 'The View'."
Like I said, sometimes I doubt Ms. Tomi's too smart. Definitely nice legs though.
.@TomiLahren explains why she's pro-choice: "Stay out of my guns and you can stay out of my body, as well." pic.twitter.com/0kFXJ7oL9L
— The View (@TheView) March 17, 2017
Lonzo Ball Leads UCLA Over Kent State, 97-80 in #MarchMadness
In any case, I wasn't disappointed. Lonzo sank his first five baskets attempted, at least, including a three-pointer. Later in the game he took a long pass for a massive flying slam dunk. UCLA's a hot team, seeded third for these NCAA championship games.
In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing UCLA play deep into the tournament.
At the Los Angeles Times:
Dynamic freshman duo again carry the Bruins to victory https://t.co/6u34OwoxWj
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) March 18, 2017
FINAL score presented by Sanyo: UCLA 97, Kent State 80.#KSUvsUCLA l #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/K8DWKeUm0Z
— UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) March 18, 2017
TJ Leaf (23 pts), Lonzo Ball (15 pts) & Aaron Holiday (15 pts) powered UCLA past Kent State, 97-80.
— UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) March 18, 2017
MORE: https://t.co/94W2Flb68i pic.twitter.com/r0XrFThWIV
Comic Genius Ace
— Mind-Numbed Robot (@mnrobot) March 18, 2017
Flashback to Sabine
A football kit has never looked so appealing... https://t.co/ubXX57eF8P pic.twitter.com/oQf9FC7rjg— Page 3 (@Page3) March 18, 2017
Geert Wilders and the Real Story of the Election
From Daniel Greenfield, at FrontPage Magazine:
Geert Wilders and the Real Story of the Election https://t.co/Jx82X5jiwG— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) March 16, 2017
The Dutch Coalition Government
From, Matthew E. Bergman, a lecturer at University of California at San Diego, at the Monkey Cage, "The Dutch pushed back against Geert Wilders’s ‘Patriotic Spring.’ Here’s what you need to know":
Has the “Patriotic Spring” sprung? What’s next for #Netherlands after elections, now @monkeycageblog https://t.co/KC0Cpre7Qg
— Joshua Tucker (@j_a_tucker) March 16, 2017
What does a coalition look like?
In multiparty countries, the absence of a clear majority winner means parties bargain over policy and government positions until a coalition emerges that can earn the support of a majority in parliament. In the Netherlands, once that bargaining is done, a more formal coalition agreement then names the prime minister and cabinet, which then draws up the Government’s Statement of policy priorities.
This coalition bargaining process in the Netherlands generally takes about three months. Large parties hold a bargaining advantage because they require fewer partners to form a majority.
Since World War II, the largest Dutch party has been either the centrist Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the social democratic Labor Party (PvdA), or the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Coalitions form around the leader of one of these three to be the prime minister.
As noted in Figure 1, the Labor Party (PvdA) suffered a loss of 26 seats. There are numerous parties of the left and center, along with smaller parties. But adding together the seats claimed by the PvdA, Green Left (GL), Socialist (SP), Christian Union (CU), Party for the Animals (PvdD), pensioners’ (50 Plus) and multiculturalism (DENK) parties falls far short of the necessary majority.
All the major parties during the campaign pledged not to work with Wilders, even though the PPV holds a sizable number of seats. In 2012, Wilders backed out of his governing arrangement with the VVD and CDA. That episode and his further radicalization and controversial statements may leave PPV out of the final coalition.
Friday, March 17, 2017
William Y. Chalfant, Hancock's War
Also, Dangerous Passage: The Santa Fe Trail and the Mexican War, and Without Quarter: The Wichita Expedition and the Fight on Crooked Creek.
David Horowitz, The Left in Power: Clinton to Obama
President Trump's Sweeping Budget Cuts Would Fund 'Hard Power'
At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump's 'hard power' budget makes sweeping cuts to EPA and State Department, boosts defense spending":
President Trump released a spending plan Thursday that would slash programs across government with a machete to pay for sharp increases in the military, veterans’ health and the construction of a wall along the southwest border.More.
On the chopping block: billions of dollars in research aimed at fighting diseases and climate change; job training programs; grants to local communities that pay for public transit and housing, heating oil for the poor; diplomatic efforts across the globe; and libraries.
Proposed for elimination: at least 19 independent agencies including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Trump argued that many of the programs he wants to slash are ineffective, outdated or duplicative. Beyond that, he says the budget is sending a message to reorder $1.1 trillion in the federal government’s discretionary spending around his “America First” agenda, putting defense and border security at the center while curtailing other government functions.
“We can't spend money on programs just because they sound good,” said Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget and a conservative former congressman from South Carolina.
In addition to proposing cuts across the spectrum, Trump would increase funding for school choice, counter-terrorism and the hiring of more border agents and immigration judges and prosecutors. But the biggest increase, by far, would go to the military in the form of an additional $54 billion in annual spending.
The budget, which lacks many details Trump and his agency leaders will add in the coming months, will not become law in its current form...
Shop Deals at Amazon
In any case, I do thank all of you for your support. It's very nice of you. I'm a humble community college professor. American Power isn't as popular as it used to be, although I like to think I can still fill niche here, especially with unabashedly pro-American and politically incorrect blogging. That's never going to change.
In any case, at Amazon, Today's Deals.
Also, Audio Technica AT-LP120BK-USB Direct-Drive Professional Turntable (USB & Analog), Black.
Here, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - White.
And, Millennium Assorted Energy Bars (6 Count) - Long Shelf Life Fruit flavored Bar Bundle - Survival Pack for Calamity, Disaster, Hiking and Meal replacement - with Emergency Guide.
More, Mountain House Just In Case...Breakfast Bucket.
Plus, Koffee Kult - Medium Roast Coffee Beans (2 lb Whole Bean) Highest Quality Delicious Coffee - Fresh Gourmet Aromatic Artisan Blend - Packaging May Vary.
BONUS: Harvey Klehr, Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America, and The Soviet World of American Communism.
ICYMI: David Horowitz, Take No Prisoners
At Amazon, David Horowitz, Take No Prisoners: The Battle Plan for Defeating the Left.
David Horowitz Interview with Dave Rubin (VIDEO)
Here's his latest book, at Amazon, Big Agenda: President Trump’s Plan to Save America.
And watch, "David Horowitz on Communism, Marxism, and the Black Panther Party":
Trump Administration Said to Apologize to U.K. Over Spying Claims
This was the big thing on CNN this morning, which I had on for a while while grading essays:
Still more, at Memeorandum, "White House apologizes to British government over spying claims."
Once Called a Hoax, Vallejo Kidnapping Leads to Prison
Harvard-educated man sentenced to 40 years for bizarre Vallejo kidnapping police had called hoax https://t.co/cVmFeM9NYn @brittny_mejia— Hailey Branson-Potts (@haileybranson) March 17, 2017
It had been nearly two years since Denise Huskins had been in the same room as the man who kidnapped her in the early morning darkness.Keep reading.
Standing at a podium in a Sacramento courthouse, she faced him. Then she turned her words against the man — a Harvard-educated former attorney — who had bound, drugged and raped her twice.
“Now we meet face to face, eye to eye,” Huskins told Matthew Muller. “I’m Denise Huskins, the woman behind the blindfold.”
Huskins’ family and friends grew teary eyed as she described her pain after Muller kidnapped her on March 23, 2015, and after the Vallejo Police Department, at one point, publicly portrayed the case as a hoax.
In an emotional scene, Huskins asked that Muller be sentenced to life in prison.
“I know, without doubt or hesitation, that as long as he walks free, there will be more victims,” she said.
At the sentencing, Muller’s defense attorney argued for a 30-year sentence, citing his client’s struggles with mental illness.
“I’m sick with shame,” Muller said, adding that he would accept whatever sentence was imposed.
His parents sat with their younger son and their family and friends, as they waited in silence for U.S. District Court Judge Troy L. Nunley to hand down his sentence:
Forty years in prison.
The kidnapping took place before dawn as Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, slept in the master bedroom of his home on Mare Island. The couple awoke to find a stranger standing in the room.
Using a stun gun and a water pistol made to look like a gun, Muller ordered the couple to lie still while he bound and blindfolded them and gave them a sleep-inducing liquid, prosecutors said. A recorded message played over headsets, threatening electric shock if the couple did not comply with his orders.
Muller placed Huskins in the trunk of Quinn’s 2000 Toyota Camry and moved her to the trunk of another car before driving her to his family’s South Lake Tahoe home...
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest
I picked up a copy.
It's at my beside. Indeed, I've read the preface to the new edition. She's a energetic writer who's endlessly pleased by the publication of her book. It changed her life. She's got few regrets.
She became something of a public intellectual too.
At Amazon, Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West.
Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism
At Amazon, Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short Introduction.
Dutch Election Sows (Shows) Extreme Political Fragmentation
MY take on Dutch elections. Headline by @nytimes doesn't really summarize different points made in it. #TK17 🇳🇱 https://t.co/9ZmoHAC936
— Cas Mudde (@CasMudde) March 16, 2017
The parliamentary election in the Netherlands on Wednesday was predicted to be the next populist show of strength after the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election. The Dutch would be the first of a number of European countries to succumb to the right-wing populists’ siren songs in 2017, with the French not far behind.
It didn’t work out that way.
Geert Wilders, who is all too often described as a bleach blond or referred to as “the Dutch Trump,” did not defeat the conservative prime minister, Mark Rutte. In fact, he didn’t come close.
With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or V.V.D., came first with 21.2 percent of the vote, compared to Mr. Wilders’s Party for Freedom, which took only 13.1 percent. Mr. Wilders barely improved on his margin in the 2012 election (where he took 10.1 percent) and failed to do as well as he did in 2010 (where he got 15.5 percent of the vote).
The real story in Dutch politics isn’t Mr. Wilders’s rise, it is the unprecedented fragmentation of the political system. Together, Mr. Rutte’s and Mr. Wilders’s parties look set to make up only 33 percent of the Parliament, with 11 more political parties constituting the rest. This splintering of Dutch politics is making effective governance of the country increasingly impossible.
While previous Parliaments have counted 14 or more factions, what has changed is the relative size of the parties. In 1986, the top three parties together won 85 percent of the vote. In 2003, it was down to 74 percent. Today it is just around 45 percent.
Because of its proportional representation system of voting, the Netherlands is an extreme case. But the trends are similar across Western Europe: The main center-right and center-left parties are shrinking, smaller parties are growing and unstable coalition politics are becoming the norm. There are many reasons for this — from secularization to deindustrialization to the emergence of new political issues, like the environment or immigration.
The consequences have been painfully visible across Europe for some time. It took Belgium 541 days to form a government after its 2010 election. Both Greece and Spain were in recent years forced to hold second elections after the first Parliaments failed to form coalitions. In the Netherlands, forming a government is not quite as difficult, but the next one will most likely be a coalition of four to six parties.
If the Party for Freedom is excluded — and almost all parties have pledged that they will refuse to serve in a coalition with Mr. Wilders — the government will probably consist of five or six medium-size parties that span almost the entire political spectrum. Given that the conservative V.V.D. and the Christian Democratic Appeal are ideologically closer to the Party for Freedom than they are to, for example, the Green Left party with which they will be governing, the government will be rightly perceived as an anti-Wilders coalition.
This will play right into Mr. Wilders’s hands. He has long argued that the Netherlands’ political parties are all the same. Being the leader of the largest opposition party against an internally divided, weak “anti-Wilders” coalition is undoubtedly his second most desired outcome of the elections — after, of course, winning an outright majority of the votes.
The only way to break this vicious circle is for the parties in government to come together to support a positive program, one that justifies their cooperation and their decision to exclude Mr. Wilders...
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Shop Today
I figured out what happened on my *bumped* posts last night: I had the wrong date, the 13th instead of the 14th, so the posts wouldn't bump up to the top of the blog. My bad. I was fatigued from work and I thought the posts were from yesterday and not the day before. In any case, at least Blogger's not all "hinky" after all.
Until tonight, Shop Deals at Amazon.
Here's one, Save on Dyson AM05 Hot + Cool Fan Heater (Certified Refurbished).
BONUS: Carol Anderson, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.
More Hailey Clauson (VIDEO)
At Sports Illustrated:
Marine Corps Nude Photo Scandal (VIDEO)
At Quartz, "Watch: Senator Gillibrand tears into the marines over why no one’s been held responsible for the nude photo scandal."
And CBS This Morning:
Professor Robert Kelly Viral Children Interruption Video
ADDED: At Althouse, "'My real life punched through the fake cover I had created on television'."
Professor Robert Kelly speaks to us again - now we can officially meet his wife & children 😉 https://t.co/SmwRdyPOd7 #BBCDad pic.twitter.com/smCE8iW431— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 14, 2017
Fear and Loathing at MSNBC
At the Other McCain:
FEAR AND LOATHING AT MSNBC! https://t.co/GxSx1DHubW pic.twitter.com/XWWdGXomav
— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) March 15, 2017
Thank you Rachel Maddow, for debunking the myth that Trump hasn't paid any taxes in 18 years. pic.twitter.com/wRWNbQZzu1
— Elizabeth® (@MissLizzyNJ) March 15, 2017
Dutch Elections Today
And after the Dutch elections on March 15, 2017
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) November 6, 2016
I Will Make The Netherlands Great Again!#MakeTheNetherlandsGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/rZXo1QpOy0
.@BlazingCatFur Dutch Vote Watched Across Europe With a Finger in the Wind. https://t.co/X4huwf0rhg
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 15, 2017
In less than 24 hours, Dutch voters head to the polls. Here's where the race stands now https://t.co/J2kNtCMYVj pic.twitter.com/asKQa62gzS
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) March 14, 2017
Viacheslav Morozov, Russia's Postcolonial Identity
At Amazon, Viacheslav Morozov, Russia's Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
President Trump Paid $38 Million in Taxes on More Than $150 Million in Income in 2005 (VIDEO)
And at Bloomberg, "Trump Paid $38 Million Tax on $150 Million Income, Return Shows."
That's huge tax hit. Huge.
It's an effective tax rate of 24 percent. Sheesh. Didn't Mitt Romney get his effective rate down to 14 percent in 2011? I think President Trump needs a new accountant, lol.
And Rachel Maddow needs to get her head screwed on correctly. This is no bombshell. Trump's paying his fair share in federal taxes. Shoot, he's being over-taxed. Maybe that's why he didn't want to release his returns? He's getting hammered by the IRS.
In any case, Maddow's still as butch as ever. I never --- absolutely never --- watch her show. It's been years, literally.
Also, at the Daily Beast, via Memeorandum, "Report: Trump's 2005 Taxes Revealed."
One More Time, ICYMI: Robert J. Utley, The Indian Frontier
From earlier today:
*****
I just finished Utley's chapter on the final campaigns of the frontier wars, which concludes with the surrender of Geronimo in 1886.
It's a great book. Marvelously balanced.
At Amazon, Robert J. Utley, The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846-1890.
One More Time: Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest
From earlier today:
****
I've got this one on order.
At Amazon, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest.
The book is referenced by Vine Deloria, Jr., in Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto.