Martin Meredith, Mugabe

At Amazon, Martin Meredith, Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future.

Paul Bjerk, Julius Nyerere

At Amazon, Paul Bjerk, Julius Nyerere.

Robert Kaplan, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts

At Amazon, Robert Kaplan, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground.

Rose McGowan Photographed for New Magazine Layout

At Taxi Driver, "Rose McGowan Topless for Magazine Layout."

Jeffrey Tambor Exits 'Transparent' Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

More from the never-ending story, at Deadline, "Jeffrey Tambor Exits ‘Transparent’ After Sexual Harassment Allegations."

Actually, I thought this show revolved almost entirely around Tambor's character? How's it going to go on without him?

Jeffrey Tambor Exits ‘Transparent’ After Sexual Harassment Allegations https://t.co/RWsxXDreSz pic.twitter.com/anwD7T6oiD

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) November 19, 2017

G.W. Bush: 'The fact that there was any doubt in anyone’s mind about who the president was blows my mind,' adding that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld 'didn’t make one fucking decision...'

At Politico:

George W. Bush on his presidency: "The fact that there was any doubt in anyone’s mind about who the president was blows my mind,” adding that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld “didn’t make one fucking decision.” https://t.co/8KmHQEwQvP pic.twitter.com/TX0EOqlMo4

— POLITICO (@politico) November 20, 2017

Migrants Being Auctioned as Slaves in Libya

Well, I blame Obama for regime change Libya.

At the New York Times:

Protests in Paris seem to be getting officials' attention to end slave auctions of migrants in Libya https://t.co/zg9ZJte1wB

— Dionne Searcey (@dionnesearcey) November 20, 2017

Shop Today

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BONUS: Orlando Figes, Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia.

Sanctimonious and Self-Righteous Al Franken (VIDEO)

Allie Stuckey's one of those pundits who can talk a mile a minute, and she has a quick and large vocabulary.

She's like what, 25-years-old at most? Not bad.

.@conservmillen on Franken: We see that he's engaging in the very same demeaning behavior that he has been speaking out so adamantly against pic.twitter.com/dHlgmwgknS

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) November 19, 2017

The Long Crisis of New York City's Subways

I first saw Byron York's tweet. I prolly would've ignored this story, but those salary figures are astonishing.

At NYT, "How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways."

Working for NYC subway pays well. Really well. From NYT: Average compensation for subway worker: $170k. Average for subway manager (2500 of them): $280k. https://t.co/Qv0vaWz1PO pic.twitter.com/UdorS8iE0Z

— Byron York (@ByronYork) November 18, 2017

NEW: The New York subway used to be an international treasure. Now it's the most frequently delayed mass transit system in the world. We investigated what happened and who is to blame. Here's what we found: https://t.co/VgjuBhYgtx … (with @emmagf/@laforgia_)

— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) November 18, 2017

The Fall of Robert Mugabe

This is excellent, from Robyn Dixon, at the Los Angeles Times, "The Shakespearean excesses and political intrigues that drove Africa's oldest strongman out of power":

The story of hubris and arrogance that drove Robert Mugabe's epic fall. This story is African opera, and there are few true heroes in it--other than the courageous people of Zimbabwe, who insisted on better from their leaders. https://t.co/7TdMENbBPn

— Kim Murphy, LA Times (@kimmurphy) November 19, 2017

In a glitzy Johannesburg nightclub earlier this month, a wealthy young playboy poured an entire $660 bottle of Ace of Spades Armand de Brignac Champagne over his diamond-studded watch: It was Bellarmine Chatunga, the youngest son of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

He had bragged about the watch and chunky gold bracelet on an earlier social media post: “$60,000 on the wrist when your daddy run the whole country ya know!!!”

As Zimbabweans struggle to afford food, when many find themselves sleeping outside banks in the hope of withdrawing $10 in cash, the video drew outrage, even among the ruling elite that had propped up the 93-year-old Mugabe for 37 years.

It hadn’t been an isolated incident. Mugabe’s wife, Grace, and her son from a previous marriage, Russell Goreraza, recently imported two Rolls-Royces, and she was caught up in a legal battle over a $1.35-million diamond ring.

Members of the ruling ZANU-PF party were furious that the first lady had seized majority control of a $1-billion government road contract. Then there was the incident involving a model who had been partying with her sons in South Africa: Grace Mugabe left an ugly gash when she hit her with a power cord and, facing charges of assault, she claimed diplomatic immunity and high-tailed it out of the country.

“It angered people. There have always been reports of the high living by these boys, high living by the mother, the father looking aside. They became arrogant and thought ‘No one can do anything to us,’ ” confided one ruling party figure, who wouldn’t be named for fear of reprisals. “There’s palpable anger in the military.”

The alarm over Grace Mugabe was magnified by her escalating power. When she attacked, government ministers fell. She said she could be president. “Give me the job and see if I fail!” she declared recently.

Zimbabwe’s fate came to a head this fall, according to numerous interviews with those close to the political intrigue, when Grace Mugabe turned her sights on former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his close allies among military commanders. At that point, sources say, those with any power to stop what was happening knew they would be finished — unless they toppled her. That meant removing Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe’s slow-motion downfall — planned for months by the military — is a story of his own hubris and arrogance, and his conviction that he was Africa’s last great liberation hero, with no living peers. For decades he chipped away at democracy and crafted the militaristic state that kept him in power, but he forgot that he was there at the military’s whim, not the other way around.

It was grand opera crossed with “The Sopranos,” full of scandal and treacherous turns, entertaining and dangerous. Accusations flew of poisoning, plotting, CIA espionage, military desertion and the theft of $15 billion in diamonds.

As the economy shriveled without foreign investment and a hard currency crisis sent prices of staples soaring 30% in a single week, many in the rank-and-file government felt hopeless at the prospect of going into elections in 2018 led by a president who could hardly stay awake in public meetings.

As Mugabe grew frail, he turned to promoting and protecting Grace, repeatedly warning the generals to stay out of politics, even as armed forces leaders were beginning to talk darkly of intervention.

*****

One of the ironies of the unfolding drama is the extent to which the army now confronting Mugabe has been one of the president’s chief weapons of terror over the years.

The military carried out massacres in Matabeleland in the 1980s on Robert Mugabe’s orders to eliminate opposition. Some 20,000 people were reportedly killed.

The army and war veterans evicted white farmers from their land soon after 2000 and got farms in return. Mugabe used the military to violently crush the opposition in successive elections and in Operation Murambatsvina in 2005, when up to a million people were displaced in opposition areas, their homes bulldozed.

Mugabe, say those who know him best, has always had an instinctive manipulative cunning and an acute understanding of how to wield force to break an opponent. When he saw a threat, he either crushed it or consumed it whole.

But as he aged, he grew more remote, stubborn and out of touch, and was loath to trust or consult his generals.

“He forgot the nature of the state that he himself helped to create, which is a militaristic, securocratic state,” said opposition figure Tendai Biti, a former finance minister. “He forgot that the militaristic state could just dump him when he stopped serving their interests. He could be fired, like anyone.”

Independent analyst Earnest Mudzengi said the closed, oppressive state Mugabe created likely will outlast him.

“He was made by the same guys who now want to do away with him. He made them, and he was made by them. Big people tend to overreach themselves,” he said.

“Basically what they [the generals] want is a return to the status quo,” he added. “People are celebrating, but it’s premature.”

RTWT.

Jesmyn Ward, Sing, Unburied, Sing

At Amazon, Jesmyn Ward, Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel.

Gold Box Deals

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Flashback: Lily Aldridge Uncovered for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 (VIDEO)

She's so fantastic!

Elizabeth Hurley Sunbathing

She's 52 and fabulous.

Elizabeth Hurley Sunbathing in See Through Sun Shirt - https://t.co/JcqDnoqtG8 - pic.twitter.com/Nl6WVuWUh7

— Taxi Driver (@TaxiDriverMovie) November 15, 2017

Nice Tats

Seen on Twitter, heh:

pic.twitter.com/jGsm38OEdx

— Kenneth FHC 👊🏼😎 (@kneto999) November 2, 2017

Beautiful Nude Actresses

I just love Natalie Portman, heh.

At Maxim, "15 Beautiful Actresses Who Always Get Naked."

We appreciate the dedication to their craft. https://t.co/dMJaI4Dz7J

— Maxim (@MaximMag) October 26, 2017

Trick Dodge Challengers

This Jerry D. on Twitter is really cool, lol.

Perfect DNA twins! #Dodge #MoparLogic #Mopar #MoparOrNoCar #Challenger #Hellcat #Hemi #Srt8 #DodgeDemon #RaceCar #TransAM pic.twitter.com/AW4ol5uSKM

— Jerry D (@Mopar_Logic) November 3, 2017

Ethical Movies

Well, before I see any film I'll check in advance if Harvey Weinstein, or any of the Mirimax people, had anything to do with it. We just saw "Thor: Ragnarok" last week, and I can't believe Weinstein was a part of the production, but who knows these days?

I'm not planning a lot of trips to the movie house, in any case. I'm disgusted by these people, all of them.

At the Atlantic:

Is there any way to be an ethical moviegoer in the post-Weinstein era? @christinebader considers https://t.co/I4s50hq2LR pic.twitter.com/JKGVa8OA8e

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) November 15, 2017

We're All Are Implicated in the Post-Weinstein Reckoning

From Rebecca Traister, a very radical feminist, at the New Yorker's "The Cut," "Your Reckoning. And Mine":

This essay by Rebecca Traister is very good: https://t.co/rHykoF2G44

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) November 13, 2017

The anger window is open. For decades, centuries, it was closed: Something bad happened to you, you shoved it down, you maybe told someone but probably didn’t get much satisfaction — emotional or practical — from the confession. Maybe you even got blowback. No one really cared, and certainly no one was going to do anything about it.

But for the past six weeks, since reports of one movie producer’s serial predation blew a Harvey-size hole in the news cycle, there is suddenly space, air, for women to talk. To yell, in fact. To make dangerous lists and call reporters and text with their friends about everything that’s been suppressed.

This is not feminism as we’ve known it in its contemporary rebirth — packaged into think pieces or nonprofits or Eve Ensler plays or Beyoncé VMA performances. That stuff has its place and is necessary in its own way. This is different. This is ’70s-style, organic, mass, radical rage, exploding in unpredictable directions. It is loud, thanks to the human megaphone that is social media and the “whisper networks” that are now less about speaking sotto voce than about frantically typed texts and all-caps group chats.

Really powerful white men are losing jobs — that never happens. Women (and some men) are breaking their silence and telling painful and intimate stories to reporters, who in turn are putting them on the front pages of major newspapers.

It’s wild and not entirely fun. Because the stories are awful, yes. And because the conditions that created this perfect storm of female rage — the suffocating ubiquity of harassment and abuse; the election of a multiply accused predator who now controls the courts and the agencies that are supposed to protect us from criminal and discriminatory acts — are so grim.

But it’s also harrowing because it’s confusing; because the wrath may be fierce, but it is not uncomplicated. In the shock of the house lights having been suddenly brought up — of being forced to stare at the ugly scaffolding on which so much of our professional lives has been built — we’ve had scant chance to parse what exactly is inflaming us and who. It’s our tormentors, obviously, but sometimes also our friends, our mentors, ourselves.

Since the reports of Weinstein’s malevolence began to gush, I’ve received somewhere between five and 20 emails every day from women wanting to tell me their experiences: of being groped or leered at or rubbed up against in their workplaces. They tell me about all kinds of men — actors and publishers; judges and philanthropists; store managers and social-justice advocates; my own colleagues, past and present — who’ve hurt them or someone they know. It happened yesterday or two years ago or 20. Few can speak on the record, but they all want to recount how the events changed their lives, shaped their careers; some wish to confess their guilt for not reporting the behavior and thus endangering those who came after them. There are also women who do want to go on the record, women who’ve summoned armies of brave colleagues ready to finally out their repellent bosses. To many of them I must say that their guy isn’t well known enough, that the stories are now so plentiful that offenders must meet a certain bar of notoriety, or power, or villainy, before they’re considered newsworthy.

This is part of what makes me, and them, angry: this replication of hierarchies — hierarchies of harm and privilege — even now. “It’s a ‘seeing the matrix’ moment,” says one woman whom I didn’t know personally before last week, some of whose deepest secrets and sharpest fears and most animating furies I’m now privy to. “It’s an absolutely bizarre thing to go through, and it’s fucking exhausting and horrible, and I hate it. And I’m glad. I’m so glad we’re doing it. And I’m in hell.”

Part of the challenge, for me, has been in my exchanges with men — the friends and colleagues self-aware enough to be uneasy, to know they’re on a list somewhere or imagine that they might be. They text and call, not quite saying why, but leaving no doubt: They once cheated with a colleague; they once made a pass they suspect was wrong; they aren’t sure if they got consent that one time. Are they condemned? What is the nature and severity of their crime? The anxiety of this — how to speak to guys who seek feminist absolution but whom I suspect to be compromised — is real. Some of my friends have no patience for men’s sudden penchant for introspection, but I’m a sucker; I feel for them. When they reach out, my impulse is to comfort. But reason — and a determination not to placate, not now — drives me to be direct, colder than usual: Yes, this is a problem. In fact, it’s your problem. Seek to address it.

Then there are the men who are looking at the world with fresh eyes, who are startled by the unseemly parade of sexual molesters and manipulators — the cascading allegations against Louis C.K., the conservative former judge and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, and so many more. These men have begun to understand my journalistic beat for the first time: They didn’t know it was this bad. They didn’t see how systemic, architectural, it was — how they were part of it even if they didn’t paw anyone, didn’t rape anyone. This faction includes my husband, a criminal-defense attorney who’s definitely not ignorant of the pervasiveness of sexual assault, yet reads the endless stream of reports with furrowed brow. “Who does this?” he asks. “Who does this?” Then one night, with genuine feeling: “How can you even want to have sex with me at this point?”

At elementary-school drop-off, a friend who’s a theater director tells me he’s been sorting through his own memories. “There’s this one woman, and I did ask her out, but only after she’d auditioned and hadn’t gotten the part. I wrote her, like I write to all actors who I don’t cast, to explain why. And then in that email, I asked if she wanted to go to a Holocaust puppet show with me. She said yes, and we went out a few times. This was probably 2004. Do you think that was bad?”

I laugh, put my hand on his arm, and tell him no, it doesn’t sound bad, but in fact I don’t know: Maybe it was bad or maybe it was human and they really liked each other. We are turning over incidents that don’t fall into the categories that have been established — a spectrum that runs from Weinstein-level brutality to non-rapey but creepy massages to lurid-but-risible pickup lines — and wondering whether or how any of it relates to actual desire for another person.

Still, I’m half-frustrated by men who can’t differentiate between harmless flirtation and harassment, because I believe that most women can. The other half of me is glad that these guys are doing this accounting, reflecting on the instances in which they wielded power. Maybe some didn’t realize at the time that they were putting the objects of their attention at a disadvantage, but I must acknowledge that some, even my friends, surely did....

*****

When I thought about my #metoo moments, I first recalled the restaurant manager who instructed me to keep my blouse unbuttoned as I served pizzas with fried eggs on top, about the manager at Bruegger’s Bagels who’d rub his dick against my ass as he passed me setting out the cream cheeses in the morning. I’ve never had a job in which there wasn’t a resident harasser, but in my post-college life, I believed I’d stayed out of his crosshairs.

Perhaps, in the story I’ve told myself, it was because I was never wowed by powerful men, sensing on some visceral level that they were mostly full of shit. I gravitated toward female mentors instead. But even given my wariness of Important Men, as a young woman I could never truly believe that members of the opposite sex could be as cartoonishly grotesque as they sometimes were.

I once heard that a choking person reflexively leaves the room, embarrassed for others to see her gasping for breath. I have no idea if that’s true, but it’s how I’ve dealt with harassment. One time on the subway, the man next to me wound his hand under my thigh and between my legs, as I sat there debating whether or not to stand up or scream because I didn’t want to embarrass him on a full train. That’s why, when an important writer took me to coffee, offering to help me find a new job, and asked if I’d ever fantasized about fucking a married man, I simply laughed maniacally, as if he’d just made a joke about a 65-year-old man who suggests to a 25-year-old woman that she fuck him during a professional coffee...

Keep reading.

Vanity Fair Editors Unimpressed with Radhika Jones' Sense of Style

Oh brother. She's a hot chick, with a Ph.D. from Columbia to boot!

Planning to read every single word of @radhikajones’ Vanity Fair. https://t.co/twGaDiVJWn

— jodikantor (@jodikantor) November 11, 2017

So this is the way our brilliant colleague who just shot the moon gets written about. https://t.co/WMq3NdgLt6

— jodikantor (@jodikantor) November 17, 2017

Welcome to Condé Nast!

Radhika Jones is learning the ways of One World Trade. Having been named the new editor in chief of Vanity Fair only this week, Jones, 44, headed to downtown Manhattan to get acquainted with the magazine’s staff.

But while Jones may have been editorial director of the books department at The New York Times, an alum of Time magazine and The Paris Review, a graduate of Harvard and holds a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia — none of this impressed Condé Nast-ers. They, instead, were aghast over her sense of style.

WWD observed one of the company’s fashion editors in candid conversation with industry peers remarking not on the context of Jones’ first visit, but rather the outfit she wore.

“She seemed nervous. The outfit was interesting,” the staffer noted. According to the fashion editor — who omitted Jones’ admirable literary accomplishments from conversation — the incoming editor wore a navy shiftdress strewn with zippers, a garment deemed as “iffy” at best.

Jones’ choice of hosiery proved most offensive, according to the editor. For the occasion, Jones had chosen a pair of tights — not in a neutral black or gray as is common in the halls of Vogue — but rather a pair covered with illustrated, cartoon foxes.

The animal caricatures may have also been too much for Vogue editor in chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour, who is said to have fixed one of her trademark stoic glares upon Jones’ hosiery throughout the duration of the staff meeting.

Unnerved by Jones’ choice of legwear — and Wintour’s reaction — the fashion editor proclaimed to her friends: “I’m not sure if I should include a new pair of tights in her welcome basket.” Jones is said to begin her new role on Dec. 11.

Still more at that Twitter link above.

Jesmyn Ward Wins National Book Award for the Second Time

She's on the top of my list for next reads. In fact, I have her first novel, Salvage the Bones, on the table nearby here.

She won for that book, and then this week for her second novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing.

That's quite a set of accomplishments, no matter your ideology.

National Book Awards Fiction Prize: Jesmyn Ward's 'Sing, Unburied, Sing'https://t.co/U33zExNCbv

— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) November 16, 2017

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93.1 Jack FM, KCBS Los Angeles

The Sound went down yesterday at 1:00pm. The station had a good run. The outpouring (and mourning, literally) was unheard of, man. That said, the last song I heard yesterday was Bad Company's "Moving On," so that's what I'm gonna do, heh.

Not sure what I'll be listening to, but I like Jack FM, which is still on the radio. Here's the set list from this morning:

Pumped Up Kicks
Foster The People
9:43 AM

Jimi Hendrix
Purple Haze
9:40 AM

Incubus
Pardon Me
9:43 AM

Real Life
Send Me An Angel
9:25 AM

Pat Benatar
Love Is A Battlefield
9:21 AM

Vance Joy
Riptide
9:17 AM

Fleetwood Mac
You Make Lovin' Fun
9:14 AM

Billy Idol
White Wedding
9:10 AM

Stone Temple Pilots
Interstate Love Song
9:07 AM

O.M.D
If You Leave
8:54 AM

Aerosmith
Love In An Elevator
8:51 AM

Outkast
Hey Ya!
8:47 AM

X Ambassadors
Renegades
8:39 AM

Queen
Fat Bottomed Girls
8:35 AM

David Bowie
Modern Love
8:23 AM

Michael Jackson
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
8:19 AM

Foo Fighters
My Hero
8:15 AM

Dead Or Alive
You Spin Me Round
8:12 AM

The Black Keys
Lonely Boy
8:08 AM

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
The Waiting
8:05 AM

Definitely eclectic. A nice change of pace perhaps. Or, moving on.

49ers Wide Receiver Marquise Goodwin Played Sunday After Death of Premature Son (VIDEO)

This is a good family. And this is a heartbreaking story. They have faith. Their faith helped make it through the crisis. And his prayer in the end zone Sunday, seen at the video, is for the ages.

Wow.

At CBS This Morning:

Slut-Shaming Al Franken's Accuser

So, Leeann Tweeden appeared on the cover of Playboy? So, she's a slut and is open game for Democrat sexual assailants, like Al Franken.

The "self-proclaimed nasty woman" is Vivian Copeland, who's apparently just earned her fifteen minutes of fame.

At Twitchy:

TWISTED: Self-proclaimed 'nasty woman' crawls INTO THE GUTTER to victim-shame Leeann Tweeden https://t.co/MELn9CgXmQ

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 17, 2017

Here's Franken's accuser. A far cry from the little girls Moore groped (and why haven't you spoken out about that you horrible hypocrite) or the respectable women who've accused YOU. pic.twitter.com/Id76FjN4LE

— Vivian Copeland (@Belairviv) November 17, 2017

Leeann Tweeden as she appeared on TV to accuse @alfranken and her nude centerfold from Playboy. Quite the transformation. I don't care what party a person belongs to. Perverts need to be held accountable but false accusations aren't cool, either. pic.twitter.com/WfZXcOl1bP

— Vivian Copeland (@Belairviv) November 17, 2017

A Tale of Two Scandals

Bob Menendez vs. Roy Moore.

Talk about a tale of two scandals! Check out our updated graph on the Roy Moore coverage vs. the Sen. Menendez corruption trial. Full Study: https://t.co/vSVz2pqDKU pic.twitter.com/mXWVTEH0Vf

— MediaResearchCenter (@theMRC) November 14, 2017

Thank you @thetorontosun for paying attention to #SleazeBobMenendez ! https://t.co/RaELyFwaRJ

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 16, 2017

From @michellemalkin: Silence on Sleaze-Bob Menendez. https://t.co/aKwfuBG5Eu pic.twitter.com/eUy26EwU2y

— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) November 16, 2017

.@SenateMajLdr, you do require that all those accused step down or be expelled including @SenatorMenendez who likes them "young and inexperienced".. https://t.co/EhnqOTYwDL

— Crusader MAGA 🇺🇸 (@MSPOA) November 16, 2017

He's Got a Point

He would be Robert Stacy McCain, in light of all the sexual assault allegations, for example, here: "Al Franken."

Dear Creepy Liberal Guys: Virtue-signaling, by demanding draconian punishment for sexual harassment, won't help you, once you are accused yourself. Wake the fuck up. Feminists hate you, too.

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) November 17, 2017

Al Franken

I'm seriously blown away by the sheer volume of sexual assault allegations floating to the top of the much right now. Some are serious, some not so much, but why have all these been suppressed for so long?

I'd like to see more actual evidence of wrongdoing in most of these cases, for example, more than he said/she said. And of course less politics. Stop defending your side while simultaneously attacking your enemies. Of course, leftists come out far, far worse, since they're the full on social justice warriors with mountains of demons coming out of the left's collective closet: Just now all these hip progressives are retroactively calling for Bill Clinton's resignation? Give me a freakin' break.

In any case, Al Franken's an idiot and a loser, but then, he's a Democrat, so I repeat myself:

KABC anchor: Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It https://t.co/lG4A1ZTUhC pic.twitter.com/EYIzr9ok2s

— Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) November 16, 2017

Here's Michelle Goldberg, who is very far left, at the New York Times:

Franken Should Go via @NYTimes https://t.co/usa9edBGXD

— Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) November 17, 2017

And also, Kate Harding, who's got me blocked on Twitter, defending the Al Frankenstein predator:

'As I write this, only one woman has alleged that Franken assaulted her.' Guys, (if you are a Democrat) you get a pass for assaulting 'only one woman.' More than that though, is too much. https://t.co/hyQMVYL7DG

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) November 17, 2017

More on this later, man.

Why Do Fewer and Fewer Americans Trust the Mainstream Media?

Here's Sharyl Attkisson, for Prager University:



And check out Ms. Sharyl's book, The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote.

William D. Gairdner, The Great Divide

At Amazon, William D. Gairdner, The Great Divide: Why Liberals and Conservatives Will Never, Ever Agree Hardcover.

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See especially, PORTER-CABLE PCE605K 3-Amp Corded Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit with 31 Accessories.

Also, Waste King Legend Series 3/4 HP Continuous Feed Garbage Disposal with Power Cord - (L-3200).

And, Garnier Hair Care Fructis Brazilian Smooth Flatirion Express, Difficult to Straighten Hair, 5.1 fl. oz.

More, Bushnell H2O Waterproof/Fogproof Roof Prism Binocular.

Here, Coleman Deluxe PerfectFlow Lantern.

Still more, Samsung Chromebook 3, 11.6", 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, Chromebook (XE500C13-K04US).

More here, Samsung CF791 Series 34-Inch Curved Widescreen Monitor (C34F791).

BONUS: Stephen Kotkin, Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941.

Angela Flournoy, The Turner House

At Amazon, Angela Flournoy, The Turner House: A Novel.

Coup d'État in Zimbabwe as Mugabe Under House Arrest

This looks like the real thing, at the Telegraph U.K., "Zimbabwe crisis: Army 'secures' Robert Mugabe and takes control of Harare."



And from Ms. Rukmini:

Every coup I covered in Africa in the 7 yrs I was there started with soldiers seizing state TV. https://t.co/YetvXnRDaP

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) November 15, 2017

“We just changed the head of the train,” says official in Zimbabwe, where president is under house arrest post-coup https://t.co/PP8sQobU1l

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) November 15, 2017

Countdown at 'The Sound'

Following-up from last week, "The Sound is Going Down."

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Excited for Christmas

Via London's Daily Mail, on Twitter:

We all have one friend who's already this excited for Christmas! 😂😂🎄 (Listen with your 🔊 on!) via @DailyMail pic.twitter.com/vXtqoETq9F

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) November 5, 2017

Stylin'

Seen on Twitter, a couple of weeks back:

pic.twitter.com/E2AvMKVTmj

— 😜ϦαϦᏋᏇϴᖇlᎴ😜 (@babeworld247) October 31, 2017

The Trump Wave

Or is that an anti-Trump wave, lol?

At Der Spiegel:

New @DerSpiegel cover: Washington, one year after pic.twitter.com/s2BANHmD5E

— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) November 3, 2017

Nice Ear Muffs

Seen on Twitter:

💘 pic.twitter.com/Qjhj7cCJPC

— Country Girls (@DownHomeGirls) November 8, 2017

Starting January, Your New Monthly Premium Will Be...

Whoa!

Family in NC received this letter from Blue Cross. Next time someone says #Obamacare is helping the middle class, tell them they’re lying. pic.twitter.com/AoJhOusNdm

— Alex Vargo (@alexandervargo) November 7, 2017

Ms. Sammy

The lovely Sammy Brady, seen on Twitter:

📸 @sammybraddy 📸https://t.co/kpXNSh8M8K pic.twitter.com/eQrayjlBdK

— SelfShotElite (@SelfShotElite) October 28, 2017

#MAGA

Seen on Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/xzIfrorQgv

— Tom S. (@realTomShae) November 14, 2017

Katarina Bivald, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

At Amazon, Katarina Bivald, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend: A Novel.

New Dodge Challenger

I just tweeted right now. More photos of this beautiful babe later:

.@Instapundit Not the best photo, but it's my new Dodge Challenger, at 6:00am this morning while stopping for coffee at 7/11, ahead of my Tuesday commute to Long Beach. #YOLO @PatriarchTree pic.twitter.com/egRai0qsWB

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) November 15, 2017

Amber Lee's Wednesday Weather

The lovely Ms. Amber, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Brutal

At Althouse, "Drudge can't get no respect."

I've linked to @washingtonpost over 10,000X in 25 years of doing DRUDGEREPORT. I currently give them 37% of their referral traffic, according to https://t.co/ryZX1supbD. It's a brutal business. Not even a thank you. Instead: YOU'RE A RUSSIAN OPERATIVE! https://t.co/pFjPYxkzqa

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) November 13, 2017

Today's Shopping

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

Also, North Face Men's McMURDO PARKA III.

More, CLIF BAR - Energy Bar - Peanut Butter Banana Dark Chocolate - (2.4 Ounce Protein - 12 Count).

Still more, Dickies Men's Sanded Duck Sherpa Lined Hooded Jacket.

Here, AmazonBasics Lightning to USB A Cable - Apple MFi Certified - Black - 6 Feet /1.8 Meters.

Also, Onkyo TX-8140 2 Channel Network Stereo Receiver.

Plus, Timberland White Ledge Men's Waterproof Boot.

BONUS: Mikhail Zygar, The Empire Must Die: Russia's Revolutionary Collapse, 1900-1917.

Roy Moore

I'm just now getting home.

I taught today and I've been down at the H.B. Dodge dealer all night, buying my new Challenger.

I'll post some photos tomorrow.

The thumbnail at the dealer's page doesn't do this babe justice. It's a beautiful car.

Meanwhile, here's Memeorandum for the Roy Moore news, "Locals Were Troubled by Roy Moore's Interactions with Teen Girls at the Gadsden Mall."

Also, "Fifth Woman Accuses Senate Candidate Roy Moore of Sexual Misconduct."

And at Axios, "Four senators have pulled their endorsements of #RoyMoore, including Ted Cruz."

Cruz's full statement: "These allegations are deeply concerning. We've now seen multiple, serious allegations of criminal conduct. One of two things should happen. If these allegations are true, Judge Moore should drop out now, today. The people of Alabama deserve to have the option of voting for a strong conservative who has not committed criminal conduct. Or two, if these allegations are not true, then Judge Moore needs to come forward with strong, persuasive rebuttal demonstrating that they are untrue. As it stands tonight, the people of Alabama are faced with an untenable choice. And so it is my hope one of those two options will occur very, very quickly."

"I am not able to urge the people of Alabama to support his candidacy so long as these allegations remain unrefuted. Both last week and this week, there are serious charges of criminal conduct that, if true, not only make him unfit to serve in the Senate but merit criminal prosecution. Judge Moore, like any American, is entitled to present a defense, he's entitled to put forth facts demonstrating the charges are not true. But as it stands I can't urge the people of Alabama to support a campaign in the face of these charges without serious persuasive demonstration that the charges are not true."

'White Europe'

If it's a truly anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic outburst of racist hatred, then I'm out.

But I have a feeling that's just the way leftists are painting this. If it's a genuine nationalist patriotic outpouring for the mother country, then it's fine. Call me skeptical of leftists reports until I know more.

FWIW, at the Guardian U.K., "'White Europe': 60,000 nationalists march on Poland's independence day: Xenophobic phrases, far-right symbols and religious slogans mark event also attended by families and branded ‘a beautiful sight’ by the interior minister."

Magda Szabó, Katalin Street

At Amazon, Magda Szabó, Katalin Street.

Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove: A Novel.

Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge: A Novel.

Jennifer Delacruz's Mild and Comfortable Forecast

For Sunday, from the fabulous Ms. Jennifer, at ABC News 10 San Diego:

Catherine Merridale, Lenin on the Train

At Amazon, Catherine Merridale, Lenin on the Train.

Gal Gadot Won't Do 'Wonder Woman' Sequels Unless Brett Ratner is Out

She's so fine, heh.

She's got power too. Say goodbye to this loser Brett Ratner.

At the New York Post, at Memeorandum, "Gal Gadot will only be ‘Wonder Woman’ again if Brett Ratner is out."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia.

Stephen R. Lawhead, The Iron Lance

I have Stephen R. Lawhead, Byzantium, at my bedside, waiting for the winter break to read.

But see also, Stephen R. Lawhead, The Iron Lance (The Celtic Crusades #1).

Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth

I'm really excited to read his latest, Ken Follett, A Column of Fire, but it's part 3 in a trilogy, so you gotta start at the beginning.

Here, Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth: A Novel (Kingsbridge).

Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

Okay, today I'm reading Robert Jordan, The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1), and Ken Davenport, The Two Gates.

I've been collecting more fantasy novels, though, and will be able to get to some of them over the winter break, and next summer.

For example, Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind.

Don't Disagree with Google!

I didn't blog about this at the time, I guess because there's plenty of competition in the leftist anti-freedom agenda. But James Damore's case is especially troubling.

Here's his paper, "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber." (And at the Federalist, "Read the Google Memo That Everyone Is Freaking Out About.")

And at Prager U:

George Takei Accused of Sexually Assault

Somehow this particular allegation is the most satisfying. George Takei is a disgusting far-left partisan, and now shown to be an epic hypocrite.

At the Hollywood Reporter:

George Takei accused of sexually assaulting former model in 1981 https://t.co/ZiL5AmMPAP pic.twitter.com/PBth567KIu

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) November 11, 2017

Is that the technique that you used? pic.twitter.com/gCzKMuUasY

— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) November 11, 2017

Devin Brugman Red Bikini

She's so sweet.

Which should I️ post on IG? Right or left? ❤️ pic.twitter.com/b7XMLrLbEQ

— Devin Brugman (@devinbrugman) November 9, 2017

Natasha Oakley Nipples in White Dress

At Taxi Driver:

Natasha Oakley Nipples in Wet See Through White Dress - https://t.co/L1zrjjFPOz - pic.twitter.com/usAnfM18bQ

— Taxi Driver (@TaxiDriverMovie) November 10, 2017

Caroline Wozniacki Body Paint (VIDEO)

Nice!

Crystal Renn Almost Loses Her Top (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Tesla Tells Hundreds of Workers to Take a Hike, You're No Good

Tesla pfft.

I don't like that company.

At LAT, "Hundreds of Tesla workers were let go for subpar performance, the company says":

Outside #Tsla showroom in Walnut Creek, CA. Looks like alot of people are upset, even customers#model3delayed #whyelon pic.twitter.com/hDjwx2uS18

— Charlie (@TSLAEE) October 15, 2017

Firing hundreds of workers all at once is rare, at least in the auto industry. But Tesla Inc. does things differently.

Word leaked out Friday that the electric car, battery and solar roof company had bulk-fired several hundred employees.

The San Jose Mercury News, which broke that story, said Tesla made clear that workers were dismissed for subpar performance, not laid off. Layoffs tend be blamed on business conditions or overstuffed payrolls, not on job performance.

It's unclear how many of the company's 33,000 workers were cut. Tesla won't pinpoint the number. News reports put it between 400 and 1,200.

A factory employee told the Mercury News that about 60 fellow workers were told to head for the exit. The company said, however, that most of those dismissed work in administrative and sales jobs.

Some workers at the Tesla plant have been trying to organize a union.

"I had great performance reviews. I don't believe I was fired for performance," said Daniel Grant, who told The Times he's worked at Fremont factory since 2014 as a production assistant. He suspects he was fired because he raised safety issues and supported a union drive.

"The company didn't show me or others our most recent reviews when they fired us," Grant said. "I would like the company to release our full reviews, including peer reviews, to us."

An assembly line worker, Mike Williams, said his firing last week could not be the result of a bad performance review because, in his last review in 2016, "my supervisor had nothing but good things to say about me."

Other fired workers were treated the same, he said. "Our reviews were due in June. In June they told us they would be in August. In September they told us October."

Williams said he received a disciplinary write-up about a year ago for playing music that contained profanity but stopped when he was ordered to.
He was fired, he believes, because he spoke up about safety issues at employee meetings and because he wore a union shirt on what's become Union Shirt Friday for some workers at the Telsa plant. "I had a union sticker on my water bottle, too," he said.

Tesla declined to discuss the claims of either fired worker...

More.

Cadillac's CTS-V is High-End Hooligan

I never thought I'd get a Caddy, but this puppy could change my mind, lol.

At LAT, "Cadillac's CTS-V is a high-end hooligan that doubles as a daily driver":

Cadillac's CTS-V is a mild-mannered monster, a Clark Kent car that transforms instantly from milquetoast sedan to high-horsepower track master.

Moderately styled inside and out but massive under the hood, the CTS-V represents Cadillac's ambition to build the perfect all-around performance car — or what the company calls "the ultimate sports sedan."

"This is a car for someone who wants a car that can do everything," said Tony Roma, chief engineer for Cadillac's ATS, CTS and V-series family. "They don't want a fleet full of sports cars and luxury cars."

Cadillac has stuffed the CTS-V with sports car and luxury car appointments.

The four-door, five-passenger sedan is propelled by a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine, jointly designed by engineers from Cadillac and its GM sibling Corvette, that makes 640 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque.

The CTS-V engineers said they were trying for the throttle response of a Ferrari 458 and an engine growl that "barked with a special signature," helped in part by the quad exhaust system.

Check off that box. The rear-wheel-drive CTS-V is a rubber-burning, tail-wagging hooligan car.

The eight-speed transmission comes with a track mode and a launch control function. (The daily driver modes are Touring and Sport.) The 19-inch wheels are clad in performance tires. A front splitter and rear spoiler come standard.

Together, those elements allow this refined rocket to jet from zero to 60 miles per hour in a claimed 3.7 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 200 miles per hour.

Brembo brake calipers bring the vehicle back to earth. A magnetic ride control suspension system keeps it stable. A head-up display keeps the driver's eyes on the road, and the magnesium paddle shifters allow for a pleasantly engaged drive experience.

Of course, not all buyers will be ready to take advantage of the power, speed and handling of the CTS-V. So, Cadillac has thoughtfully included in the price of the car two days of "performance training" at a race track...

Keep reading.

I'd like to got to the race track, heh.

Today's Deals

At Amazon, Today's Shopping.

See especially, Hanover 41000 BTU Square Wicker Propane Patio Heater, 7', Brown/Hammered Bronze.

And, Cell Phone Stand, Lamicall S1 Dock : Cradle, Holder, Stand For Switch, all Android Smartphone, iPhone 6 6s 7 8 X Plus 5 5s 5c charging, Accessories Desk - Black.

More, LUENX Aviator Sunglasses Polarized Men Women with Accessories Metal Frame UV 400 Driving Fashion 60MM.

Here, AmazonBasics Lightning to USB A Cable - Apple MFi Certified - Black - 6 Feet /1.8 Meters.

Also, Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM 15.6-Inch FHD Notebook (Intel Core i3-7100U 7th Generation, 4GB DDR4, 1TB 5400RPM HD, Intel HD Graphics 620, Windows 10 Home), Obsidian Black.

Plus, Timberland White Ledge Men's Waterproof Boot.

Still more, Dickies Men's Sanded Duck Sherpa Lined Hooded Jacket.

BONUS: David Priestland, The Red Flag: A History of Communism.

Homeless People Cleared Out from Santa Ana River Trail

Brutal.

At LAT, "'It's been a night from hell': Homeless pushed out of Santa Ana River face uncertain futures": 

Lisa Weber pushed her red-rimmed glasses higher on the bridge of her nose Thursday morning as she pondered how best to move her belongings off the dirt trail she has called home for months.
Her blue eyes seemed to show a glimmer of hope in contrast with her doleful expression. A friend living in a tent farther down the trail passed by and waved.

Like other parts of California, Orange County has seen an uptick in its homeless population in recent years. Scores of homeless people who have set up camp in the past year along the quiet trail overlooking the Santa Ana River in Fountain Valley feel they’ve found safety and camaraderie there.

However, beginning Friday, Orange County sheriff’s deputies began evictions at the various homeless camps along the river as part of a crackdown sparked by complaints from nearby residents.

The situation underscores the tension created by the homeless surge in this suburban county, where officials removed bus benches near Disneyland after complaints from merchants and where a massive encampment in the Santa Ana Civic Center has sparked debate.

Many homeless people are now scrambling to figure out where to go next.

The county plans to permanently close the west side of the Santa Ana River flood-control channel between 17th Street in Santa Ana and Adams Avenue in Huntington Beach as it prepares to start maintenance of flood-control district property along the trail, officials have said. That area includes the Fountain Valley encampment.

“I’m on my way out the gate,” Weber said as she looked toward the fence at the entrance to the river trail on Edinger Avenue. “I’m not scared because I have a plan, but I know other people are worried about where to go.”

Weber said she likely will begin sleeping in her Oldsmobile, which she recently bought for $100. The car runs, she said, but not very well. She’s afraid it eventually will be impounded because of child support she owes from decades ago.

But right now, she figures it’s her best option...

More.

Joseph Wheelan, Midnight in the Pacific

At Amazon, Joseph Wheelan, Midnight in the Pacific: Guadalcanal — The World War II Battle That Turned the Tide of War.