@TwistysExile @TMBbyCiccio @kkoij75 @withlovealways2 @BrutuslWallie @goodstuffpage @Naughty_Flash @kokoroco25 @hannahobeyed @mayasroses @cCynthii @pjot_rock @elisomed5 @bustersmith6 @h20kogi @Daisykia @Elsie_geselsie @koerperkontakt @LourdesDean88 @vill_ha_dig @lovesladys57 @isrc1970 @Ginaoben @Tedhenrya @K__S__J__A @vipgirls4free @desires_unknown @daddyskitty6 @Coach0302 🦋@TwistysExile🦋#ClassyBabes#TeamBeauty#VIP pic.twitter.com/hmwyfbjUOP
— ღ Sabrina ღ 158K (@saby292) May 2, 2017
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Rule 5
Monday, May 8, 2017
Amber Lee's Slightly Warmer Forecast
Here's the lovely Ms. Amber, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
California Democrats to End Ban on Communists in State Government
I'm older today, though. And given the nature of leftist subversion, I think it's a big mistake to do away those requirements now. Frankly, some of the Republicans are furious at this piece, at the Sacramento Bee, via Memeorandum, "California may end ban on communists in government jobs."
California may end ban on communists in government jobs (Sophia Bollag / Associated Press) https://t.co/jLWuU6ie3h https://t.co/WfS1t1ZLWI
— memeorandum (@memeorandum) May 9, 2017
Macron's Regime: So It Begins
And so it begins. pic.twitter.com/Upa8AKmBJW— Brittany Pettibone (@BrittPettibone) May 8, 2017
ADDED: It's worth noting, but this Breitbart piece is a week old. Still, it definitely "begins" with the election of that dang macaroon.
Emmanuel Macron, No Nutritional Value
Francesca Eastwood in See Through Sweater
Francesca Eastwood Braless in See Through Tight Sweater - https://t.co/EblEMHkxPs - pic.twitter.com/ZqFtkoMfRY
— Taxi Driver (@TaxiDriverMovie) May 8, 2017
Lindsey Pelas Braless in See Through Dress
Lindsey Pelas Braless in See Through Tight Dress - https://t.co/6oqCrerQ1E - pic.twitter.com/4jhDuT8jrJ
— Taxi Driver (@TaxiDriverMovie) May 8, 2017
Was the American Revolution Such a Good Idea?
“We could have been Canada,” Adam Gopnik says. Well, there’s a Canada right up there for anyone who wants it.But, as good and satisfying as quick snark feels, it pays to drive the point home, that this piece, from Adam Gopnik, at the New Yorker, is fundamentally evil. I can't be more emphatic. The world today would be a much worse place without the U.S., but for demonic leftists like Gopnik, Australia and Canada are models of modern enlightened nation-states. Fuck the racist U.S. You should have been aborted, you cancer on the world.
Like I said, this is evil incarnate. Leftists are evil. Never, ever forget that.
Was the American Revolution such a good idea? https://t.co/09Rinf2qq7 via @adamgopnik— Marc-William Palen (@MWPalen) May 8, 2017
France's Surrender
Pro-Brexit group compares Macron’s election win to France’s surrender in World War II – POLITICO https://t.co/tetkA5oqEp— Mike Allen (@AMike4761) May 8, 2017
And from Ben Garrison:
Don't do it #France No Suicide by Political Correctness! #VivelaFrance #jevotepour #LePen #BenGarrison #cartoons https://t.co/Oj98iIxEAZ pic.twitter.com/tUO8xqQCdl
— BenGarrison Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) May 7, 2017
Au revoir en France! #MacronPresident #frenchelection https://t.co/Oj98iIxEAZ pic.twitter.com/Djg7UfcZKG
— BenGarrison Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) May 7, 2017
Melanie Phillips, Londonistan
At Amazon, Melanie Phillips, Londonistan.
Condoleezza Rice
And at CBS This Morning:
Melanie Phillips Braves Berkeley (VIDEO)
I’m on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, where conservative speakers are being systematically censored by violent protests designed to prevent them from speaking. I am on Sproul plaza in the centre of the campus, where free speech was supposedly enshrined back in the sixties but where it is now appallingly being suppressed.More.
This is the campus where conservative views are called fascism and shouted down. As you can see from these posters on this campus noticeboard.
This is where Jewish students in particular are being intimidated by threatening pro-Palestinian demonstrators. I was originally asked to speak at Berkeley Hillel, the Jewish student centre here. But remarkably, even that was considered too dangerous for me.
So I spoke instead to Jewish students at another, more discreet centre. These students had to be personally coaxed to attend my meeting – because Jewish students at Berkeley are now too frightened for their own safety to attend pro-Israel presentations. That is the truly shocking state of affairs in this prestigious seat of learning today...
Hat Tip: Blazing Cat Fur.
Storm Brings Snow to Local Mountains (VIDEO)
At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Nathan Damigo
I've Finished The Last of the Mohicans
Check it out, at Amazon, The Last of the Mohicans.
I hadn't realized it beforehand, but the 1992 film version of the book alters the story considerably. Reading around online, some commentary indicates the alterations improve the story, making the tale more into a romance thriller of sorts.
Either way, it's worth a look, in paperback or on DVD.
Jennifer Delacruz's Lingering Showers Forecast
We're having some winter weather in May. I stayed in all day, reading and watching baseball. The Angels had no problems with the weather, but lost to the Astros 5-3 at Anaheim Stadium.
In any case, here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer with the weather report, for ABC News 10 San Diego:
Emmanuel Macron Beats Marine Le Pen
At Bloomberg and the Telegraph U.K.:
Emmanuel Macron beats Marine Le Pen in the #Frenchelection with 65% of vote - exit polls https://t.co/6aSX0XS5dJ pic.twitter.com/oSUq89nrTJ— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 7, 2017
39-year-old Macron will become the youngest president in French history https://t.co/kXLJZUcWM6 #Presidentielle2017 pic.twitter.com/4Wz8a5fg5Q— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) May 7, 2017
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Jennifer Delacruz's Thunderstorms Forecast
At ABC News 10 San Diego:
ICYMI: Richard White, The Middle Ground
Once again, thanks for your support.
At Amazon, Richard White, The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815.
Deals Today
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BONUS: Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness.
Emmanuel Macron's Emails Hacked Ahead of French Presidential Election (VIDEO)
You gotta love it.
At the Telegraph U.K., "French election: Are Russian hackers to blame for Emmanuel Macron's leaked emails - and could they target UK general election?"
Is the Macron campaign that stupid? They can't secure their own emails? Like John Podesta caught in a phishing scam? These people are idiots.
More from Jack Posobiec, at the Rebel:
Prominent French Leftists to Abstain in Sunday's Presidential Vote
Looks like the so-called establishment candidate, Emmanuel Macron, doesn't appeal to the leftist establishment.
At NYT:
Pascal Bruckner, Zeev Sternhell, Agnès Varda, Sophia Aram et al vs. Emmanuel Todd & other left-wing abstainers. https://t.co/181ymA8KP2— Rachel Donadio — NYT (@RachelDonadio) May 6, 2017
PARIS — The French comedian Sophia Aram took to the airwaves of one of France’s most popular morning radio shows this week. In the squealy voice of a teenage girl, she cried, “I can be against toothbrushes, and against cavities!” She then added: “Hashtag: NeitherCheeseNorDessert.”Keep reading.
Ms. Aram was making light of what she saw as a worrisome trend ahead of the French presidential election on Sunday, a race that has divided the country’s intellectuals and cultural figures: voters, especially on the left, who might abstain or cast a blank ballot because they intensely dislike both the centrist front-runner Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen.
The “Neither-Nor” impulse, as it’s called here, was a factor in past French elections, but greater discontent — with conventional political parties and the European Union — has been particularly strong this time.
“A lot of people don’t recognize themselves in either of these candidates,” said Sudhir Hazareesingh, a politics professor at Oxford University and the author of “How the French Think.” The backdrop is a French left that’s divided, especially over the big Cs: capitalism and communism — and the collapse of the governing Socialist party in this election.
Devon A. Mihesuah, Repatriation Reader
This is fascinating.
Fergus Bordewich had a chapter on it, in Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century.
Camila Mendes
BONUS: "Steplinks of the Day":
Trying to convince a girl to let me braid my beard into her pussy hair – so that we can feel like conjoined twins…connected in this universe…is really not taken as seriously as it should…because it’s the only thing I want to do..and bitches just laugh it off...
Friday, May 5, 2017
Evelyn Taft's Chance of Scattered Showers Forecast
Hopefully it'll be just like that tomorrow.
Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, for KCAL 9 News Los Angeles:
Fidget Spinners
Say hello to fidget spinners, the latest toy sensation https://t.co/pF88u75Fu7 pic.twitter.com/7dLYpf4eBs
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 5, 2017
Teachers are totally over fidget spinners: https://t.co/aAT5lzeQe5
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 5, 2017
Bella Thorne Magic Mountain
And TMZ, "BELLA THORNE AND JORDAN CLARKSON -- MAGIC MOUNTAIN SHOTS."
Also at Taxi Driver, "Bella Thorne Nipples in Braless Cutoff White Beater."
Who Wins and Who Loses in the Latest G.O.P. Health Care Bill
Frankly, I'm not quite sure what the bill does exactly. It's going to lift the individual mandate, but charge you extra for initial enrollment if you've been uninsured longer than two months. And it's going to phase out federal ObamaCare subsidies for Medicaid, or something like that.
In any case, maybe this piece will help, at NYT, "Who Wins and Who Loses in the Latest G.O.P. Health Care Bill":
The American Health Care Act, which narrowly won passage in the House on Thursday, could transform the nation’s health insurance system and create a new slate of winners and losers.Keep reading.
While the Senate will probably demand changes, this bill, if it becomes law in its current form, will repeal and replace large portions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). It will change the rules and subsidies for people who buy their own insurance coverage, and make major cuts to the Medicaid program, which funds care for the poor and disabled.
Any sizable change in our complex health care system leaves some people and businesses better or worse off. For some, insurance will become more affordable — or their taxes will be lower. Others will lose out on financial support or health care coverage. You can see how you might be affected in our summary of winners and losers...
ADDED: Ignoring the dramatic, sky-is-falling headline, and the leftist bent, you get a gist of the major provisions here, at LAT, "All the horrific details of the GOP's new Obamacare repeal bill: A handy guide."
MORE: After reading around, I like the bill --- it's repealing the most reviled elements of ObamaCare, and returning more power to the states. I think we need to keep some protections for the poorest and the elderly, but we don't need the ObamaCare mandates to do that.
See additional analysis, at Heritage, "The House Acts on Obamacare. Time for the Senate to Follow Suit."
Devon A. Mihesuah, American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities
My copy came
I really appreciate it!
At Amazon, Devon A. Mihesuah, American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities.
This is a nifty little book, by the way. It's a myth-busting little tome, chock full of bibliographic citations.
Don't miss it!
Cinco de Mayo in the Trump Era
Folks can still celebrate Cinco without being all depressed about heightened immigration enforcement. Leftists are just such fucking goons.
At ABC News 10 San Diego, using the AP wire service:
Cinco de Mayo in Trump era leaves Mexican-Americans torn https://t.co/2sQ8TuntdV— 10News (@10News) May 5, 2017
For years, Yazmin Irazoqui Ruiz saw Cinco de Mayo as a reason to eat tacos and listen to Mexican music.
The 25-year-old Mexican-born medical student left Mexico for the U.S. as a child and celebrates the day to honor a homeland she hardly remembers.
But the Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident said she's reluctant to take part in Cinco de Mayo festivities this year as President Donald Trump steps up federal immigration enforcement and supporters back his call for the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I mean, what is it about? You want to eat our food and listen to our music, but when we need you to defend us, where are you?" Irazoqui Ruiz asked about the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.
She isn't alone. Trump's immigration policies and rhetoric are leaving some Mexican Americans and immigrants feeling at odds with a holiday they already thought was appropriated by beer and liquor companies, event promoters and bars.
Latino activists and scholars say that ambivalence is bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo and by stereotypes exploited by marketers.
The once-obscure holiday marking a 19th century-battle between Mexico and invading French forces is now a regular celebration in the U.S., where party-goers flock to bars for cheap margaritas and tacos. Television beer commercials often show mostly white actors on a beach celebrating.
"The narrative around Cinco de Mayo seems to say, 'this day really isn't yours'," said Cynthia Duarte, a sociology professor at California Lutheran University...
More.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Evelyn Taft's Chance of Showers Forecast
It's getting toward the end of the semester, though, so I'm ragged after a full day. It'll be nice to lounge around tomorrow and read books. The weather's certainly suited for it. I hope it's not too hot, heh.
Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, herself sporting the robust red tonight, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
The Collapse of American Identity
Jones is the author of The End of White Christian America.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 2, 2017
There have been other times in our history when the fabric of American identity was stretched in similar ways — the Civil War, heightened levels of immigration at the turn of the 20th century and the cultural upheavals of the 1960s.RTWT.
But during these eras, white Christians were still secure as a demographic and cultural majority in the nation. The question at stake was whether they were going to make room for new groups at a table they still owned. Typically, a group would gain its seat in exchange for assimilation to the majority culture. But as white Christians have slipped from the majority over the past decade, this familiar strategy is no longer viable.
White Christians are today struggling to face a new reality: the inevitable surrender of table ownership in exchange for an equal seat. And it’s this new higher-stakes challenge that is fueling the great partisan reorientation we are witnessing today.
The temptation for the Republican Party, especially with Donald Trump in the White House, is to double down on a form of white Christian nationalism, which treats racial and religious identity as tribal markers and defends a shrinking demographic with increasingly autocratic assertions of power.
For its part, the Democratic Party is contending with the difficulties of organizing its more diverse coalition while facing its own tribal temptations to embrace an identity politics that has room to celebrate every group except whites who strongly identify as Christian. If this realignment continues, left out of this opposition will be a significant number of whites who are both wary of white Christian nationalism and weary of feeling discounted in the context of identity politics.
This end is not inevitable, but if we are to continue to make one out of many, leaders of both parties will have to step back from the reactivity of the present and take up the more arduous task of weaving a new national narrative in which all Americans can see themselves.
Devin Brugman and Natasha Oakley on the Beach in Miami
From Hawaii to Miami and tropical locales in between, it's rough out there.
At Egotastic!, "Devin Brugman and Natasha Oakley Sweet Thong Sisters."
There's times where I forget what a beach girl I am 💫🌴 So happy to be in Miami wearing @mondayswimwear X pic.twitter.com/I11d6aYcjq
— Natasha Oakley (@Tashoakley) May 4, 2017
Shop Today's Deals
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BONUS: Paul MacDonald, Networks of Domination: The Social Foundations of Peripheral Conquest in International Politics.
Dennis Prager on Communism's Horrific Legacy
This is most excellent, man.
Aleister, Long-Time Blog Personality, Comes Out as Mike LaChance
I probably should have started with a pseudonym, lol.
At Legal Insurrection, "Meet Mike LaChance, aka “Aleister”."
He's been blogging full-time for a few years now. More power to him.
Naomi Schaefer Riley Interview at Prager University (VIDEO)
At Prager U:
Trump White House Deliberates on Afghanistan War
.@EliLake reports on the White House's deliberations over the war in Afghanistan - https://t.co/L2n0Jy1lzj
— FPI (@ForeignPolicyI) May 2, 2017
The New York Times Prints Fake Facts
.@nytimes Prints the Fake Facts that Fit its #FakeNews Narratives https://t.co/H33V9uvJzt
— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) May 2, 2017
Patricia Murphy Responds
@1PatriciaMurphy That's really cool, Patricia!
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 2, 2017
@AmPowerBlog Thanks! I've known the fight song since birth.
— Patricia Murphy (@1PatriciaMurphy) May 2, 2017
Lock 'em Up: Code Pink Protesters at Sessions Hearing Could Face Year in Prison
The woman who laughed during the confirmation hearing of Jeff Sessions was convicted and could face a year in prison https://t.co/yHfUsgB66R
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 4, 2017
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Jackie Johnson's Increasing Clouds with Chance of Showers Forecast
At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Christine Brennan: #NFL Disses Colin Kaepernick While Embracing Athletes Accused of Sexual Assault
Kaepernick's exercising his right to dissent when dissing the flag, no matter how vile his opinion. No NFL team will touch him. But a number of athletes accused of violent crimes against women, some caught on videotape, are riding high in the league.
I don't feel sorry for Kaep. That said, Mixon and some of the other thugs are sick and should've been given the cold shoulder.
At USA Today:
NFL welcomes those accused of sexual and physical assault, but not Colin Kaepernick. My @USATODAYsports column: https://t.co/EYY46wBeQI
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) May 3, 2017
ICYMI: Naomi Schaefer Riley, The New Trail of Tears
At Amazon, Naomi Schaefer Riley, The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians.
Ashley Graham for V Magazine
And at V, "Body Beautiful: Ashley Graham Bares All to Tracee Ellis Ross."
Critics Tell 'Elitist' Jimmy Kimmel to Shut Up (VIDEO)
Also, from the scum leftist TBogg, at Raw Story, via Memeorandum, "CNN panel goes off the rails after conservative calls Jimmy Kimmel's emotional healthcare appeal ‘cheap’."
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Amber Lee's Warm Inland Forecast
It's definitely SoCal heaven right now.
Go out a grab a beer and enjoy it!
Here's the lovely Ms. Amber, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Kendall Jenner Wore See-Through Gown and Thong to Met Gala
At USA Today, "The time Kendall Jenner wore a visible thong to the #MetGala."
And at Taxi Driver, "Kendall Jenner Ass Cheeks at the Met Gala."
Can't Get Enough of Kate
At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:
We can't get enough of our cover girl. 💙 https://t.co/O0XifWcPUo pic.twitter.com/tMCEU66UOg
— SI Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 2, 2017
Adam Tooze, The Deluge
Ending the Trust System Will Do More for American Indians Than Changing the Name of the Washington Redskins
Reading her book was one of the reasons I've been on the frontier America jag for the last few months.
And here she is with a great new video for Prager University.
Not to be missed. I love these clips:
I've Finished Fergus Bordewich's, Killing the White Man's Indian
I forgot to mention I'd finished the book, which is a shame, considering its sheer excellence.
At Amazon, Fergus Bordewich, Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century.
This book should be a required introductory text for any student of Native American history. If readers start only with Dee Brown's Bury My Heart, or Vine Deloria, Jr.'s, Custer Died for Your Sins, they're doing it wrong.
Bordewich is no conservative (nor Trumpian nationalist, for that matter). But he's fair and pragmatic, and he drops a few righteous barbs onto the far-left "settler colonial"-hating scholars and commentators.
It definitely deserves a spot on your bookshelf. A great volume.
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Trump vs. the Media
How bad is the problem of media bias? The answer can be summed up in a few words: President Donald J. Trump. Whether you love or hate him, there's no question that Trump gained a huge amount of support for his willingness to criticize the media in harsh and unsparing terms. Yet, the media seem baffled by the fact they've lost the trust of the American people. They have responded by being extraordinarily defensive and doubling down on even more histrionic attacks. However, the American system has always depended on a strong and trusted media to hold those in power accountable. Journalist Mollie Hemingway looks at the impressive list of media failure that led us to this unique moment and asks: Is it possible for the media to recover their credibility before it's too late?
Glamour Model Elle Johnson Dubbed 'Too Sexy for Instagram'
At Maxim, "#FreeTheCleavage model @_ElleJohnson gets booted off Instagram (again) for her sexy pics."
And at London's Daily Mail, "Glamour model dubbed 'too sexy for Instagram' is banned from the site for her VERY racy snaps - and says she feels like Doctor Dao who was thrown off a United Airlines flight."
Vulnerable Dems Aren't Pulling Punches
At National Journal, "Vulnerable Democrats Are Showing Little Fear of Trump":
.@AndreaDrusch explains why vulnerable red-state Dems aren't afraid to bash Trump https://t.co/bvArBqHKoV (free!)— Kimberly Railey (@KimberlyRailey) May 1, 2017
Vulnerable Democrats aren’t pulling any punches criticizing President Trump’s first months in office. Instead of veering to the right—as many red-state Democrats have tried with little success in recent years—2018’s most endangered senators have repeatedly voted against Trump’s Cabinet nominees, helped filibuster his Supreme Court pick, and ratcheted up their rhetoric against policies they say hurt the middle class.I doubt Dems have much shot at taking back the Senate, especially if Trump continues to hold his main base of supporters heading into the 2018 midterms (as polls are now showing). (Dems are defending the majority of Senate seats up for reelection in 2018). But, political science shows that the president's party almost always loses seats in the midterms, so I'm not holding my breath. The Senate's vulnerable to a Democrat takeover, although the House not so much. It'll pay to refer to some of the Larry Sabato-style vote-prediction analyses in the months ahead.
While these senators still need to win back plenty of Trump voters ahead of the midterms, strategists say the moves reflect a new reality for red-state Democrats. After three election cycles of dormancy, the Democratic base could suddenly play a significant role in their reelections, even in states Trump won handily.
Pointing to the House special election he’s working on in Georgia, Democratic pollster John Anzalone said Democrats are already taking note of an influx of voters who hadn’t participated in previous midterms—a trend that could dramatically alter the political landscape in red territory in two years.
“If that holds into 2018, we’re going to see a voter universe that’s different from anything we’ve seen in God-knows how many midterms,” Anzalone said in an interview last week. “That’s what we should be focusing on as Democrats.”
Among vulnerable senators, many of whom pledged to work with the new president after he was elected, few are shying away from attacking the president, even in places he just won.
Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, long considered a quiet centrist, raised eyebrows earlier this spring when he took to Twitter criticizing the president and participated in a series of rambunctious town halls. Members of the Senate Finance Committee, which includes a handful of vulnerable Democrats, boycotted a hearing for Trump’s picks to lead the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Treasury. And all but four Democrats joined with their leadership in a filibuster of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch.
As lawmakers returned from their April recess last week, red-state Democrats wasted no time laying into shortcomings of Trump’s first months. In a press conference Tuesday, Sens. Casey, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin each laid into the president for a lack of action on outsourcing and trade. Asked whether any appetite remained to work with the White House, Stabenow said each of them had initially been “hopeful” about it in the beginning, but grown less optimistic throughout the course of the president’s first months.
That attitude has drawn praise from progressive groups, who say frustration with Trump is already driving up their activism in traditionally red territory...
But we'll see. We'll see.
I love politics right now. I love how the Democrats are all fucked up.
More.
Democrats Know Why Clinton Lost
But autopsies continue to pour in, and if they've got some supreme pedigree, some establishment authority and gloss, the updated spin sort of excuses base Democrats of their stupidity. If they'd only known this before the election!
At McClatchy, "Democrats say they now know exactly why Clinton lost" (via Memeorandum):
A select group of top Dem strategists know why Clinton lost. Will the rest of the party listen to them? https://t.co/QnHAeYwdnw— Alex Roarty (@Alex_Roarty) May 1, 2017
A select group of top Democratic Party strategists have used new data about last year’s presidential election to reach a startling conclusion about why Hillary Clinton lost. Now they just need to persuade the rest of the party they’re right.More.
Many Democrats have a shorthand explanation for Clinton’s defeat: Her base didn’t turn out, Donald Trump’s did and the difference was too much to overcome.
But new information shows that Clinton had a much bigger problem with voters who had supported President Barack Obama in 2012 but backed Trump four years later.
Those Obama-Trump voters, in fact, effectively accounted for more than two-thirds of the reason Clinton lost, according to Matt Canter, a senior vice president of the Democratic political firm Global Strategy Group. In his group’s analysis, about 70 percent of Clinton’s failure to reach Obama’s vote total in 2012 was because she lost these voters.
In recent months, Canter and other members of Global Strategy Group have delivered a detailed report of their findings to senators, congressmen, fellow operatives and think tank wonks – all part of an ongoing effort to educate party leaders about what the data says really happened in last year’s election.
“We have to make sure we learn the right lesson from 2016, that we don’t just draw the lesson that makes us feel good at night, make us sleep well at night,” Canter said.
His firm’s conclusion is shared broadly by other Democrats who have examined the data, including senior members of Clinton’s campaign and officials at the Democratic data and analytics firm Catalist. (The New York Times, doing its own analysis, reached a similar conclusion.)
Monday, May 1, 2017
The Last Diversity Visa Lottery?
And seriously? Fourteen million people have puts their names in for it this year? God, what are the odds? Not much better than PowerBall, that's for sure.
At WaPo, "Despite Trump, millions hope to win what could be the last U.S. green card lottery":
Despite Trump, millions hope to win what could be the last U.S. green card lottery https://t.co/82b9tSwUax
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 1, 2017
On Tuesday, more than 14 million people around the world, including anxious applicants in the Washington area, will begin checking computers and smartphones in one of the strangest rituals of the U.S. immigration system. When the clock strikes noon in the nation’s capital, they will be able to visit a State Department website, enter their names, years of birth and 16-digit identification numbers. Then they will press “submit” to learn whether they have won one of the world’s most coveted contests: the U.S. green card lottery.Keep reading.
Each year, the Diversity Visa Lottery, as it is officially known, provides up to 55,000 randomly selected foreigners — fewer than 1 percent of those who enter the drawing — with permanent residency in the United States.
The current lottery coincides with an intense debate over immigration and comes amid policy changes that have made the country less welcoming to new arrivals. President Trump has cracked down on illegal immigration and pressed forward with plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico. He has issued executive orders targeting foreign workers, refugees and travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries.
But he hasn’t said a word about the green card lottery...
And ICYMI, see Steven Camarota, at Foreign Affairs, "The Case Against Immigration: Why the United States Should Look Out for Itself."
Jackie Johnson's Continued Warming Forecast
Still warm with clear skies through the week, with the slightest chance of some clouds and moisture coming down from the north by Friday.
Here's the lovely Ms. Jackie to start off our weather week blogging, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
May Day Protests
Watch, at RT, "May Day marches and protests in Paris," and Ruptly, "France: Protesters hammer police with Molotov cocktails amid clashes in Paris."
See the New York Times, "From France to Indonesia, Marking May Day With Protests."
Also at CBS News 5 San Francisco, "Latest on #MayDay protests in Bay Area."
And at Berkeleyside, which includes the BAMN photo, "By Any Means Necessary," seen below. (Via Memeorandum.)
‘My students are fearful:’ Berkeley teachers rally for May Day https://t.co/TMwNmvVeAJ
— Berkeleyside (@berkeleyside) May 1, 2017
"How a Group That Defended Affirmative Action Evolved Into an Anti-Trump Force" https://t.co/q79J9axBUi #TrumpMustGo #StopDeportations pic.twitter.com/40ZjQYMKsF
— BAMN (@followbamn) April 25, 2017
The Arrogance of Blue America
The arrogance of blue America https://t.co/oY5RV81AdE pic.twitter.com/4J41gCmSs2
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 1, 2017
Trump Will Test Democrats' Tax Patriotism
Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., Now That the Buffalo’s Gone
At Amazon, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., Now That the Buffalo’s Gone: A Study of Today’s American Indians.
Lindsey Pelas in Tangerine Lingerie on Instagram
Today's Deals
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More, Mountain House Just In Case...Essential Bucket.
Still more, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - Black.
And, OPSELL 5 Pack 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Memory Stick Thumb Drives (5 Mixed Colors: Black Blue Green Red Silver).
BONUS: Christopher Hitchens, The Trial of Henry Kissinger.
Trump's First 100 Days at the Riverside Convention Center (VIDEO)
Why there were cheers for Donald Trump in Riverside https://t.co/mHOLBfWkr0 pic.twitter.com/4DAtKxyXkx— The Press-Enterprise (@PEcom_news) May 1, 2017
As they gave President Donald Trump high marks for his first 100 days in office, a trio of conservative radio talk show hosts at a Riverside conference Sunday, April 30 urged congressional Republicans to get their act together and pass the president’s agenda, especially repealing Obamacare.More.
“It’s OK to disagree. It’s fine to be a divided caucus if at the end of the day, you come together and take 75 percent of what you want and call it a win,” Dennis Prager told an audience of more than 800 at the Fourth Annual Unite IE Conservative Conference.
Republicans “generally do not perceive the threat that the left is to our society,” he added. “This is the Achilles’ heel of the Republican Party … If you do understand it, then any victory is a victory.”
The conference, which took place at the Riverside Convention Center, offered a chance for conservatives to gather, network and be inspired in a state that’s been hostile ground for their beliefs.
This year’s conference focused on the first 100 days of the Trump administration, which hit that mark Saturday. Radio host Hugh Hewitt, who served as a panelist for four debates of GOP presidential hopefuls, gave Trump a “solid B,” saying the Republican real estate mogul and reality TV star needs to fill more judgeships.
Another radio personality, Larry Elder, gave Trump an A+, calling the nomination and confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch “far and away” the president’s most important accomplishment.
Prager gave Trump an A- and apologized for resisting Trump’s quest for the GOP presidential nomination.
“I am starting to love this man and I thought I would never say that in my life,” Prager said.
Unlike liberals, Trump doesn’t care if America is loved, Prager said, adding: “The recipe for peace on Earth is not for America to be loved, but feared.”
Michael Marrus and Robert Paxton, Vichy France and the Jews
UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute Finds U.S. College Freshmen More Politically Polarized Than Ever
Report by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute also finds difference between men and women in concerns over cost of tuition.Keep reading.
The political divisions that emerged and intensified during the 2016 U.S. presidential election were particularly apparent at colleges and universities: Students protested candidates, registered to vote and debated hot-button issues inside and outside of their classrooms.
According to findings of the Freshman Survey, an annual study of first-year college students administered by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, political polarization on campuses is the most extreme it has been in the study’s 51-year history. The 2016 report is based on responses from 137,456 full-time, first-year students at 184 U.S. colleges and universities.
Just 42.3 percent of freshmen characterized their political orientation as middle of the road — the lowest figure since the survey began in 1966. Meanwhile, 35.5 percent considered themselves liberal or far left and 22.2 percent said their views are conservative or far right.
The report also reveals the survey’s largest-ever gender gap in terms of political leanings. An all-time high 41.1 percent of women identified themselves as liberal or far left, compared to 28.9 percent of men. Women also were more likely than men to agree that addressing global climate change should be a priority of the federal government (82.4 percent versus 77.6 percent) and to favor stricter gun control laws (75.4 percent versus 58.8 percent).
The survey also pointed to differences in students’ views of their own empathy for others. For example, 86.6 percent of students who called themselves left-of-center said their tolerance of people with different beliefs is “strong” or “somewhat strong,” compared 82.0 percent of centrist students and 68.1 percent of right-of-center students.
“The increased activism among entering college students we found in 2015 seemed to intensify in the months leading up the election, and our 2016 survey points to the diversity and polarity of how college freshmen perceive their place in the current political landscape,” said Kevin Eagan, lead author of the report and managing director of the institute, which is housed in UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. “The gender gap in students’ political beliefs and levels of empathy suggests an opportunity for campuses to facilitate dialogues that bridge differences.”
Genevieve Morton Soaks Up the Sun (VIDEO)
New Political Reality for France
See, "Macron vs. Le Pen: A New Political Reality for France."
Macron vs. Le Pen: A New Political Reality for France https://t.co/fMLuVVjRSj pic.twitter.com/CSIEbPDLrP
— SPIEGEL English (@SPIEGEL_English) April 24, 2017
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Kole Calhoun Breaks Through
But look at this beauty of a throw to home. The man's a machine in right field, and in fact is a Golden Glove winner:
Kole's got a cannon. @Angels pic.twitter.com/cXD5PgcQN1
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) April 30, 2017
Angels' Kole Calhoun breaks through https://t.co/nnuHJmOqAP
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) May 1, 2017
Jennifer Delacruz's Continued Warm Forecast
When the weather gets like this, I don't want to go to work. It reminds me of the long Santa Barbara summers I had, while preparing for my qualifying exams, lying out by the pool, as if it was paradise.
It's been just wonderful these past few days.
And here's the wonderful Jennifer Delacruz, for ABC News 10 San Diego:
New York Times 'Slammed' with Cancellations Over Bret Stephens Op-Ed
ICYMI --> New York Times ‘slammed’ with cancellations as punishment for climate change heresy https://t.co/LB2e6RrocM— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 30, 2017
It was a perfectly reasonable op-ed:
That this quiet, measured Bret Stephens column caused such an uproar is hilarious. https://t.co/luAgIdlTSw— Charles Murray (@charlesmurray) April 30, 2017
Reminds, if you haven't yet, be sure to pick up your copy of Robert Zubrin's, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism.
#BretStephens pic.twitter.com/EthcpFe6P6
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 1, 2017
Kelly Monaco at the Daytime Emmys
I'm watching baseball, actually, although I just couldn't resist posting this photo of Kelly Monaco.
Wow!
It's gotta be 90 degrees at the show, so certainly this is appropriate evening attire, thank goodness!
— fyeahsoaps (@fyeahsoaps) April 30, 2017
Democrats Turn to Bernie Sanders to Rebuild the Party
Remember last week? Here, "Bernie Sanders Wants Democrats to Focus on Economic Populism, Not Social Justice Cultural Marxism (VIDEO)."
Well, then, check out WaPo, and this David Weigel piece that came out just when Bernie and the DNC chair got embroiled in this populism vs. culture debate.
See, "Democrats turn to Sanders and his star power to rebuild the party":
NEW: Democrats turn to @BernieSanders and his star power to rebuild the party, via @daveweigel https://t.co/43G6Tp93zF— Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) April 19, 2017
LOUISVILLE — Earlier this week, before heading downstairs to speak to nearly 3,000 Kentuckians, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reminisced about his 2016 presidential campaign. After he had gained steam, and his rallies had become arena-size events, he was struck by the difference between his crowds and those at Democratic Party fundraisers.
“We’d have a rally with five or ten thousand young people out, a great deal of energy,” Sanders said between bites of a steak sandwich. “Then I’d walk into a room and there’d be a thousand people from the Democratic Party. You were in two different worlds — one full of energy, one full of idealism. And the other, full of good people — I don’t mean to put them down — who are the bedrock of the Democratic Party.”
At that moment, Sanders was on the second day of a week-long, cross-country speaking tour with Democratic National Committee Chairman Thomas Perez. The DNC was picking up half the bill for the 12-seat chartered plane as well as the venues, including the downtown Louisville Palace.
As Sanders spoke, Perez was a block away, meeting with party leaders who — like most Democratic leaders — had backed Hillary Clinton for president. Later that evening, they would take a stage and praise Sanders, who is not a Democrat, for reinvigorating their party. A chairman who defeated Sanders’s preferred candidate to run the DNC was now touring as his opening act.
“Our values are aligned on so many of the critical issues that confront the nation and the Democratic Party,” Perez said in an interview. “When people actually look at the platform of the Democratic Party — they’ll say, ‘We need community college!’ — well, look at the platform. When they say, ‘We need a $15 minimum wage’ — look at the platform.”
The first 24 hours of the tour revealed both the strength and the seams in the strategy. It began in Portland, Maine, on Monday evening, where a crowd wrapped around the State Theatre to see the “Come Together, Fight Back” tour. Maine’s Democratic Party leaders flitted through the crowds with clipboards, encouraging fans of Sanders to sign up.
They had competition. A group of rogue “Berniecrats” had brought clipboards of their own, with petitions encouraging the senator to run for president in 2020 as an independent. When the rally began, a mention of Perez was met with boos audible over mild applause; the loudest heckling came from a man whose T-shirt declared his support for the Green Party.
Once onstage, Perez described his Democratic Party as a vessel for activists, with a platform they could love. It was activists, he said, who stopped the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. It was activists who had passed a minimum-wage hike, which Maine’s Republican governor had halted.
“In these first 100 days, the most remarkable thing is not what Donald Trump did — the most remarkable thing is what you did across the county,” Perez said.
The chairman left the stage, and a disembodied announcer introduced Sanders. This time, there were no boos; over 48 minutes, Sanders mentioned Perez’s DNC only once...
More.
Nina Agdal Bikini Workout on Instagram (VIDEO)
Via Sports Illustrated:
Bikinis. Beaches. Burpees...? #MondayMotivation https://t.co/eloK2T7tyf pic.twitter.com/efg6pbQynO
— SI Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) April 24, 2017
President Trump Signs Executive Order on Offshore Drilling; Leftists Go Nuts
At the San Francisco Chronicle, "Trump order could open California waters to oil drilling."
Trump signs offshore drilling order that may open coast waters https://t.co/fCBCufamNI pic.twitter.com/igmZ5iuXRa— SFGate (@SFGate) April 28, 2017
Also, at LAT, "Trump's directive on offshore drilling will face solid resistance in California," and "Santa Barbarans are angered by Trump's order that could lead to new offshore drilling."
Anaheim Ducks Fall 0-2 Behind Edmonton Oilers
I used to have Canadian roommates from Calgary, and we used to watch the Flames. I visited Calgary, to spend six weeks with my best friend at the time, in 1984.
I still hate hockey, lol.
But everybody's wearing Ducks shirts and jerseys, and mounting fluttering window flags on their cars.
So, what the heck? Any hockey fans reading this blog?
At the Los Angeles Times, "Ducks fall into 0-2 hole at home with 2-1 loss to Oilers."
From colleague @curtiszupke: Ducks fall into 0-2 hole at home with 2-1 loss to Oilers https://t.co/k0JKWzN8XV
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) April 29, 2017
Tania the Satellite Uplink Lady
Loving the KU band satellite uplink :) I want one!!! 😄@cbs3_wx @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/PStvZlPwpo
— Tania Gail (@TaniaGailPhotos) April 24, 2017
Baby Hippo Fiona
At USA Today:
Baby hippo's keepers learn to live with bruises https://t.co/54OIPyk3Dv— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 30, 2017
President Trump's First 100 Days
Every 5-4 decision for next 3 decades that goes conservatives’ way is one of Trumps “First 100 Days” accomplishments https://t.co/rJ0m5pEkXX— Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) April 24, 2017
Despite the best efforts of the White House “PR apparatus” to sell the president’s first 100 days as a success, the New York Times declared in an editorial, the new administration has, in fact, been plagued by “many missteps” including a “bungled sales job” on his first major legislative initiative and a “snakebit” confirmation process, all of which have produced “a flurry of articles bemoaning the lack of focus in the White House.” The first 100 days, the Times declared, is a period the president “might prefer to forget.”More.
The president in question is not Donald Trump. This is how, in April 1993, the Times described the first 100 days of Bill Clinton’s presidency. But not to worry, the Times reassured its readers: “It’s still early, and a hundred days don’t really mean very much.”
The Times is right: The first 100 days really don’t mean very much at all.
Right now, the Trump White House appears to be in a panic over the approaching milestone, looking desperately for last-minute accomplishments. It is pushing the House to vote this week on repealing Obamacare, and it is risking a government shutdown in an effort to make Democrats pay for a border wall with Mexico, instead of just passing a straight extension of current funding levels. And the president announced (to the apparent surprise of his own staff) that he would unveil his tax reform plan on Wednesday, before it is fully baked.
To which I say: Mr. President, slow down. There’s no rush. Ignore the critics. You’re doing just fine.
Trump has accomplished something more significant in his first 100 days than any president in recent memory has done: the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Trump’s predecessors’ early achievements were fleeting. President Barack Obama’s stimulus (with its false promise of “shovel-ready” jobs) is long forgotten. George W. Bush’s tax cuts were not signed until June and were partially repealed by his successor. But Trump’s success in placing the 49-year-old Gorsuch on the Supreme Court will affect the direction of our country for a generation. Indeed, Trump can count every 5-4 decision over the next three decades that goes conservatives’ way as one of his “First 100 Days” accomplishments. No other modern president can claim to have had that kind of lasting impact in so short a time...
PREVIOUSLY: "Donald Trump's First 100 Days" (featuring Salena Zito).
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Jennifer Delacruz's Sunny, Breezy, but Cooler Forecast
Complaints Ignored Before Jailbreak at the O.C. Jail
O.C. deputies complained of lax policies before the 2016 jail escape, but they were ignored, grand jury finds https://t.co/uUOu73oreF pic.twitter.com/MFWvatjNJ0— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 29, 2017
Deputies at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana had long complained of flawed inmate monitoring procedures that allowed three men to escape from the facility last year, but nothing was done to correct the problem, according to a report released by the Orange County Grand Jury this week.Brazen AF.
The scathing study listed failures by officials that contributed to the escape, which made national headlines and became a major embarrassment for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The grand jury cited a flawed inmate counting procedure, the failure of deputies to remove jerry-built tents around the escapees’ bunks that may have concealed their activites and inadequate monitoring of the jail’s plumbing system, which the inmates used to gain access to the roof, as major factors in the escape.
A lack of surveillance cameras and lighting in the plumbing tunnels and on the roof, which the inmates rappelled down from before, were also cited as problematic in the report.
Deputies failed to catch on to an escape plot even though the report found it likely took months of planning and would have involved loud sawing and cutting as the prisoners worked to gain access to the plumbing tunnels.
Authorities have said that Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong were able to obtain a cutting tool and saw through several layers of metal and rebar when they broke out of the jail in January 2016, sparking a statewide manhunt that lasted nearly a week, according to the report.
Jail staff did not become aware of the escape until 15 hours after the trio climbed to the roof of the jail and fled, a time lapse that likely helped the fugitives stay well ahead of their pursuers. The men had been jailed on charges including attempted murder and torture.
“After conducting a comprehensive study, problems with both supervision and training became obvious,” the report read. “Lack of compliance with existing policies and procedures by various [Orange County Sheriff’s Department] personnel at all levels was the primary factor responsible for the escape.”
The inmates took a cab driver hostage and traveled as far north as the Bay Area. Their escape plot began unraveling days later, police say, when Duong rejected Nayeri’s plan to kill their hostage and fled to a San Jose motel with the cab driver.
Duong drove back to Orange County and surrendered to authorities on Jan. 29. Nayeri and Tieu were arrested in San Francisco the next day. The men are due in court for preliminary hearings in June, records show...
But keep reading.
And flashback to last year, "Experts Question Detention and Security Protocols at Orange County Jail."
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BONUS: Richard White, The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815.