American Power

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Apply the Same Rules to James Gunn

If you were on Twitter yesterday (where else?), you probably heard about the James Gunn controversy. It turns out the dude, who's the creator and director of "Guardians of the Galaxy," posted thousands of tweets (allegedly jokingly) promoting pedophilia, sexual assault, and other racist or taboo comments.

He's now been fired by the Walt Disney Company. See the Wrap, "Disney Drops James Gunn From 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Franchise After Offensive Tweets."

Disney Drops James Gunn From 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Franchise After Offensive Tweets https://t.co/GlophU8FEL pic.twitter.com/AuVcwvmawH
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) July 20, 2018

A number of conservatives were defending Gunn, saying that he shouldn't have been fired for offensive tweets. Personally, I'm glad he was fired. We're in an attack culture. Gunn was apparently a vicious member of "the resistance" against President Trump. I see no reason to carve out an exception for someone like this when conservatives are constantly harassed, deplatformed, fired, and demonetized simply for expressing conservative viewpoints. And as someone whose personal livelihood (and person) was viciously attacked by diabolical leftists for years, I'm still in the war mode. Fuck 'em.

In any case, AoSHQ, who is no longer posting on Twitter, wrote a series of posts yesterday about the story.

See, "Marvel/Disney Director James Gunn in Twitter Flap." And especially this part:

What complicates this, of course, is that Disney fired Roseanne Barr for making a joke that the left claimed was racist, but will not, I assume, fire James Gunn for making pedophilia jokes.

Incidentally, I believe both Roseanne Bar and James Gunn. I think Roseanne Barr did not know Valerie Jarrett was black for a simple reason: Because I didn't know that myself.

She says she assumed Jarrett was Iranian; I believe that, because I assumed that too. I always heard of Valerie Jarrett's family's close relations to Iran; I assumed that meant they were Iranian.

I also think James Gunn was just making a lot of edgy jokes.

But Disney did fire Barr -- so should Gunn be spared the Social Justice whip?

Although one might say two wrongs don't make a right, let me explain the wrong I care about avoiding: the wrong in which liberals are permitted to say whatever they like without consequence, but where I will be fired and hounded out of civil society for saying the same sort of thing.

I will not put up with that, and yeah, I think I'll demand a bullshit firing of James Gunn, because I will insist on the #SameRules applying to both liberals and myself.

So yeah, fire this pedo-normalizing monster.

Also, "Report: James Gunn Fired from Guardians of the Galaxy," and "I Was Wrong. James Gunn Was a Scalp-Hunting SJW Himself."

When it comes to the topic of Disney firing @JamesGunn, I think we should listen to @JamesGunn. pic.twitter.com/vctdjCwj9w
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) July 20, 2018

Note that Ace is being entirely consistent with his earlier position on attack politics and its consequences. Go back to this post from last year, "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum -- Again":

It is imperative we begin emulating the left in its tactics.

A couple of years ago, I suggested a completely different strategy: I wanted to pursue a kinder path. I wanted an end to the speech wars and social media mobs and boycotts and all the rest of it.

But that path has been tried, and it has failed. Passive resistance -- moral resistance -- can only work when dealing with opponents with morality and honor, or who, at least, see you as more than subhuman.

Gandhi's tactics would not have worked had India been colonized by, say, China.

Many on the right, or even liberals who lean to the left but who still hold to classic liberal traditions, have called, endlessly, for an end to the Speech Wars.

That failed.

We've been trying this for years. Two or three years in my own case.

Has this sweet music of reason had any positive effect of soothing the passions of the beast?

Well, watch this video of the Empowered Mob demanding more firings at Evergreen college last week, and tell me the path of merely condemning mob lunacy is having any effect at all.

The Empowered, Privileged Mob demanded -- demanded! -- that white people absent themselves from their space, and this is what happened to those who said, "No, that's racist, and teaching class is my job."

Embarrassed by their own repulsive behavior, the Privileged Mob is now demanding -- demanding! again, like emotionally unstable toddlers -- that this video be taken down and that consequences be visited on whoever "stole" it.

This is not working.

People calling for an end to the Speech Wars have a good end in mind -- most people would just love it if not every single minor consumer transaction were not politicized, if not every single public faux pas were not a call to the Social Justice Wolves to come and feed -- but the current strategy, championed by most who want to get to this end-point, is not working.

The dispute I have with them now is not over their preferred end-state -- I deeply desire the end-state they seek, where people actually have freedom to think and speak as they want, and not every fucking mundane movie-ticket purchase is either a Cause or a Crisis -- but the current policy of "unilateral disarmament, and hope that the Monster Babies will learn from our example" is a total, dismal, catastrophic failure.

In order to learn at all, it is required that someone first believe that he has anything to learn at all, and we know that progressives do not see conservatives as people from whom anything can be learned -- they see us as subhumans to be re-educated and reconstructed into civilized savages who at least won't embarrass them as we tend their gardens...

RTWT.

And note that it's Mike Cernovich who really did the work to bring this guy down. At the Wrap, "Meet Mike Cernovich, the Right-Wing Provocateur Who Got James Gunn Fired."

And on Twitter below:

“The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” Disney said in a statement.https://t.co/EC1nf6vASw
— snopes.com (@snopes) July 20, 2018

Imagine being so devoid of a moral compass that you unironically defend these tweets: #JamesGunn pic.twitter.com/tHZPhijKvn
— Blake Miles (@bmiles84) July 21, 2018

James Gunn must apologize with deeds. Make the world better. Reform Hollywood. https://t.co/k7POwRyuub
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 21, 2018

We have a lot of stuff like this on many others.

This is part of bigger project, and we wanted to come out strong.

We will destroy Hollywood and their pedophile apologists and enablers.https://t.co/yyhmngl5lM
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 21, 2018

Taking my daughter to swim class, ignore the haters and trolls, they aren't who is moving society.

WE ARE.

Today the good guys won.

Tomorrow is a new day.
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 20, 2018

Remember when Shakespeare in the Park was protested?

And the "Hans Up, Don't Shoot" media suddenly said protesting was wrong, leave people alone!

Yeah that is the same going on with James Gunn.https://t.co/4ng2IGOJNH
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 20, 2018

The James Gunn was not my doing.

YOU - the PEOPLE - tipped me off to his stuff.

(I had never heard of the guy.)

You found Tweets in real time.

I am nothing without you, am grateful for you, and will continue working hard to make you proud to stand with me.
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 20, 2018

The James Gunn firing showed I have too much influence. Expect me to be banned or severely “punished” by the end of the week.

Expect a horrific “public shaming” of me this weekend or early this week.

You can’t expose what WE did and get away with it.

I knew this going in.
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 21, 2018

Emily Ratajkowski Bikini in Greece

Oh to be young again!

Emily Ratajkowski puts on a sultry display in Greece! https://t.co/TilvNA0gR3 pic.twitter.com/QWPcTzsnxG
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) July 8, 2018

Nice Cap

It's beach weather. Get out there and check out some fabulous women!

WhimsicalLadies pic.twitter.com/6lnG9vfu8P
— Erotic Goddesses 97K (@trozo2015) July 15, 2018

Friday, July 20, 2018

Pro-Life Groups Mobilize the Ground Game

I love this.

At NYT, "‘I’m Doing It for the Babies’: Inside the Ground Game to Reverse Roe v. Wade":

Leaders of the anti-abortion movement believe they are closer than they have been in 50 years to achieving their goals https://t.co/sDypmFc4Gn
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 20, 2018

AVON, Ind. — Armed with sunscreen, doorknob fliers and a mission 50 years in the making, the team of activists sporting blue “I Vote Pro-Life” T-shirts fanned out into a web of cul-de-sacs in a subdivision just west of Indianapolis, undeterred by towering rain clouds and 90-degree heat.

It was exactly a week after President Trump had named Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to be his nominee for the Supreme Court, and the group was joking that they had a new sport: Extreme Canvassing.

In short surveys, the teams ask voters about their hopes for Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation and their opposition to abortion funding. Canvassers have knocked at nearly 1.2 million homes nationwide in recent months, and by November, they are slated to reach their goal of 2 million.

“Whenever I’m feeling tired, I say, ‘I’m doing it for the babies,’” said Kaiti Shannon, 19, as she consulted a mobile app to determine which porch with wind chimes to approach...

More.

Hailey Clauson Explains What it Takes to Be a Model (VIDEO)

Well, it helps to have some tight honking hooters, lol.

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Margot Robbie Wet Swimsuit

At Drunken Stepfather, "Margot Robbie Wet Swimsuit of the Day."

Ariel Winter in Her Pajamas

At Taxi Driver, "Ariel Winter in her PJ's."

Judge Jeanine Pirro Claims Whoopi Goldberg Treated Her Like a 'Dog' and Told Her to 'F*** Off' (VIDEO)

Heh. This is the best.

Hot Air had a good and related post yesterday, "“Say Goodbye!”: Judge Jeanine’s Appearance on “The View” Goes as Well as Expected; Update: “Get The F*** Out”."

And on Hannity's last night:

"I couldn't believe that I went there to have a conversation. I got thrown off the set, thrown out of the building, and as I walked away, she is yelling at me, get the F out of this building!" -Judge Jeanine joined @seanhannity to discuss her interview on "The View". Take a look: pic.twitter.com/p5bs8cCXku
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) July 20, 2018

USA Today Fires Cheri Jacobus

She's a vile woman and Never Trumper who's got me blocked on Twitter, so lol it's appropriate that she got fired for her vile mouthing-off on Twitter.

At the Wrap, and the USA Today statement below:

USA Today Drops Columnist @CheriJacobus After Tweet About Convicted Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Exclusive) https://t.co/AtQCG32t1h pic.twitter.com/lKaHPF5G6d
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) July 20, 2018

Statement from USA Today:

"Our editors let Jacobus know that she would no longer be writing for USA TODAY. We have asked her to remove the USA TODAY affiliation from her bio.” pic.twitter.com/PkKi8I2HeE
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) July 20, 2018

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Shop Today's Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals, New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

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Halsey in White

At Taxi Driver, "Halsey Nipples See-Through in White."

The Surreal Helsinki Summit (VIDEO)

Stephen Cohen a professor of history and Russian expert who is married to Katrina vanden Heuvel, the publisher and editor of the far-left magazine the Nation.

Cohen's been a strong critic of U.S. foreign policy toward Russia, arguing that U.S. provocations --- such as the expansion of NATO to the border of the Russian federation, and the American bombing war in Kosovo in the 1990s --- is responsible for hostile U.S.-Russia relations and the every-ready risk of war.

He argues that we're in a new cold war at the video below, an interview with Tucker Carlson from earlier this week.

And here's Ms. Katrina's essay at the Nation yesterday, "Parsing the Surreal From the Sensible in Trump’s Helsinki Performance":

Donald Trump, that self-described “very stable genius,” delivered a remarkably unhinged performance in his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin after their Helsinki summit. Trump used the global stage to savage Democrats and to attack the Mueller investigation and his own intelligence officials, while once more boasting about his election victory. Putin, clearly pleased to be accorded Trump’s public respect, noted that as “major nuclear powers, we bear special responsibility for maintaining international security.”

Not surprisingly, Trump’s remarks triggered a furious reaction. Former CIA director John Brennan called them “treasonous.” The liberal activist group MoveOn echoed the charge. Republican Senator John McCain called it “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi suggested that Trump’s behavior “proves” that the Russians “must have something on the president.”

In this toxic atmosphere, it is worth parsing the inane from the sensible in what the president said. Trump’s bizarre comments on Russian interference in the 2016 election made it clear that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation should continue....

Although he was widely reviled for it, Trump is also not wrong to say that both powers have contributed to the deteriorating relations. Leaders of the US national-security establishment protest our country’s innocence regarding the tensions in Georgia and Ukraine. But it was perhaps the wisest of them, the eminent diplomat George Kennan, who warned in 1998 that the decision to extend NATO to Russia’s borders was a “tragic mistake” that would eventually provoke a hostile response. “I think it is the beginning of a new cold war,” Kennan said presciently. “I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies.”

RTWT.

#NATO's Challenge is Germany, Not America

From VDH, at American Greatness:

NATO’s Challenge Is Germany, Not America https://t.co/9nosINM1NI pic.twitter.com/mGwkpfwWkS
— American Greatness (@theamgreatness) July 19, 2018

During the recent NATO summit meeting, a rumbustious Donald Trump tore off a thin scab of niceties to reveal a deep and old NATO wound—one that has predated Trump by nearly 30 years and goes back to the end of the Cold War.

In an era when the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact are now ancient history, everyone praises NATO as “indispensable” and “essential” to Western solidarity and European security. But few feel any need to explain how and why that could still be so.

Does NATO still protect the West? Does it prevent destructive European feuding? Does it ensure the postwar global order of free trade, commerce, travel, and communications? And is NATO—or the United States and its leadership of NATO—the real reason there has not been a World War III or a return to global tribalism and chaos?

NATO’s post-Cold War expansion to 29 nations and to the border of Russia meant the alliance became more expansive at the very time the old existential Soviet threat disappeared. Larger membership tended to weaken common ties, even as common dangers disappeared.

The result was that the idea of NATO membership became more important to the countries that are part of it than the reality and responsibility of actual military readiness.

Polls show that in most NATO countries, the idea of fighting on behalf of another country receives scant public support. The notion that the Dutch would march into Estonia to save its capital, Tallinn, from Russia is a cruel joke.

NATO’s 21st-century problem is not the United States, which provides a large percentage of its wherewithal, but Germany. As the most populous and most affluent of European nations, Germany still insidiously dominates Europe as it has since its inception in 1871.

Berlin sends ultimatums to the indebted Southern European nations. Berlin alone tries to dictate immigration policy for the European Union. Berlin establishes the tough conditions under which the United Kingdom can exit the European Union. And when Berlin decides it will not pony up the promised 2 percent of GDP for its NATO contribution, other laggard countries follow its example. Only six of the 29 NATO members (other than the United States) so far have met their promised assessments.

Germany’s combination of affluence and military stinginess is surreal. Germany has piled up the largest trade surplus in the world at around $300 billion, including a trade surplus of some $64 billion with its military benefactor, the United States, yet it is poorly equipped in terms of tanks and fighter aircraft.

Ostensibly, NATO still protects Europe from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, just as it once kept the Soviet Red Army out of West Germany. But over the objections of its Baltic neighbors and the Ukraine, Germany just cut a gas pipeline deal with Russia—the purported threat for which its needs U.S.-subsidized security.

Stranger still is Germany’s growing animosity toward the United States...

More.

Danielle Gersh Thursday Forecast

It's beautiful summer weather, and here's the beautiful Ms. Danielle, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Mike Trout Responds to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's Comments

The O.C. Register's Jeff Fletcher asked the initial question about Mike Trout earlier this week during coverage of the All-Star Game:

ICYMI all this yesterday.... To recap: Trout's not upset with the Manfred, but the #Angels defended him anyway. https://t.co/Q0p46xZP4d
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 19, 2018

And also at USA Today, "Mike Trout, Angels respond to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred's comments on star":

In a startling rebuke of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday issued a vigorous defense of All-Star outfielder Mike Trout, touting his commitment to promoting the game and his work in the community.

The Angels' statement, which calls Trout "an exceptional ambassador for the game," comes one day after Manfred told a gathering of the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America that Trout's lack of widespread popularity among casual sports fans was due in part to his hesitance to participate in activities that might promote him.

"Mike has made decisions on what he wants to do, doesn't want to do, how he wants to spend his free time or not spend his free time," Manfred said in the hours before MLB's All-Star Game at Nationals Park. "I think we could help him make his brand very big.

"But he has to make a decision to engage. It takes time and effort."

The Angels fired back in kind on Wednesday, with a withering statement that did not mention Manfred by name but certainly made clear who they were referencing.

Today, the #Angels released the following statement on OF Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/xFLURtZ4bT
— Angels (@Angels) July 18, 2018

Statement from Mike Trout: pic.twitter.com/qM7h2SXoPB
— Angels (@Angels) July 19, 2018

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Deal of the Day

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Decommissioned USS Racine Pummeled During RIMPAC 2018 Sinking Exercise (VIDEO

Here, "Watch USS Racine Get Pummeled To Death During RIMPAC 2018 Sinking Exercise: RIMPAC executes its first land-based anti-ship missile barrage in a big way."

How Samantha Hoopes Overcame Body-Shaming (VIDEO)

She's such a sweet little thing. Our hateful culture --- I can't even (*eye rolls*).

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

President Trump Says He Misspoke at Helsinki Summit (VIDEO)

At LAT, "Facing heavy criticism, Trump now says he misspoke over Putin-friendly remarks":

President Trump, seeking to stanch a national furor, said on Tuesday that he misspoke at his Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin, and meant to say that he does in fact see Russia as the culprit that interfered in the 2016 election, just as U.S. intelligence agencies have found.

The president's new version was unlikely to satisfy many critics. It is undercut by his full, widely watched remarks on Monday, which gave weight to Putin's denials while criticizing the United States.

To many, Trump had missed his chance to speak truth to power alongside Russia's president. He made his correction to reporters at the White House, as he sat alongside Republican lawmakers.

In his attempt to walk back his remarks in Finland, Trump said he accepts the consensus of American intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election. Yet in a sign that he cannot fully accept those findings — seeing them as a challenge to his election legitimacy — he added that the perpetrators "could be other people also." That assertion is not supported by known intelligence.

At a Helsinki news conference, as Putin looked on, Trump said the following to a reporter's question about whether he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, or Putin's denials of interference: "My people came to me...they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia.

On Tuesday, however, he said this: "The sentence should have been 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be' Russia."

"I have the strongest respect for our intelligence agencies, headed by my people," Trump told the reporters at a hastily scheduled session ahead of his meeting with some House Republicans about additional tax cuts.

He also said, "We're doing everything in our power to prevent Russian interference in 2018," referring to midterm elections.

Trump afterward ignored questions that reporters shouted, including whether he would criticize Putin, as White House aides pushed them out of the Cabinet room.

The day before, the president had blamed the United States for sour relations with Russia and criticized the FBI, Democrats, Hillary Clinton and the special counsel's investigation of Russia's election activities and possible Trump campaign complicity — all as Putin, occasionally smiling, stood feet away in the Finland presidential palace.

The scene almost instantly drew condemnation as it played out on television screens in the U.S. Trump, who repeatedly praised and deferred to Putin, was criticized by foreign policy and national security veterans as weak, an insult that is particularly galling to him.

In two subsequent interviews with Fox News and in his tweets after the summit, Trump sounded defensive, and more surprised and frustrated by the reaction than contrite. He did not, however, make any attempt to correct his remarks until more than 24 hours later.

"I came back and I said: 'What is going on? What's the big deal?" Trump said Tuesday...

Amanda Seyfried Seriously Sexy

At Popaholic, "Amanda Seyfried Drops Some Seriously Sexy Cleavage Action."

Amanda Seyfried Drops Some Seriously Sexy Cleavage Action https://t.co/UFByTuxc0y pic.twitter.com/QlrJuEZTMB
— Popoholic (@Popoholic) July 17, 2018

Jennifer Lopez Date Night at the All-Star Game

At London's Daily Mail, "Jennifer Lopez sizzles in skintight striped dress as enjoys date night with sharp-suited beau Alex Rodriguez."

Also, "Jennifer Lopez in a Black Top."

Tommy Robinson's Appeal Heard Today

Ezra Levant covered the proceedings from inside the courtroom, and here's Katie Hopkins:

#TommyRobinson appeal in progress. I say to the Establishment, maybe you will think twice the next time you throw one of our own to the wolves. The Muslim overlords of our prisons will get him. Eventually. pic.twitter.com/OOKf9RHuhU
— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) July 18, 2018

#TommyRobinson appeal will be heard today

Standing up for our girls against majority Pakistani Muslim rape squads pic.twitter.com/OOKf9RHuhU
— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) July 18, 2018

Causal Link Found Between Screen Time and ADHD

Well, I didn't need a large-N study to tell me this, heh.

At LAT, "Los Angeles high school students reveal a link between copious amounts of screen time and ADHD":

What with all the swiping, scrolling, snap-chatting, surfing and streaming that consume the adolescent mind, an American parent might well watch his or her teen and wonder whether any sustained thought is even possible.

New research supports that worry, suggesting that teens who spend more time toggling among a growing number of digital media platforms exhibit a mounting array of attention difficulties and impulse-control problems.

In a group of more than 2,500 Los Angeles-area high school students who showed no evidence of attention challenges at the outset, investigators from USC, UCLA and UC San Diego found that those who engaged in more digital media activities over a two-year period reported a rising number of symptoms linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The association between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in teens was modest. But it was clear enough that it could not be dismissed as a statistical fluke. On average, with each notch a teen climbed up the scale of digital engagement, his or her average level of reported ADHD symptoms rose by about 10%.

The results do not show that prolific use of digital media causes ADHD symptoms, much less that it results in a level of impairment that would warrant an ADHD diagnosis or pharmaceutical treatment.

Indeed, it’s possible the relationship is reversed — that attention problems drive an adolescent to more intensive online engagement.

But at a time when 95% of adolescents own or have access to a smartphone and 45% said they are online “almost constantly,” the new study raises some stark concerns about the future of paying attention. It was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The findings come as mental health professionals are rethinking their understanding of ADHD, a psychiatric condition that was long thought to start in early childhood and last across a lifetime. Marked by impulsivity, hyperactivity and difficulty sustaining attention, ADHD is estimated to affect about 7% of children and adolescents.

But the disorder is increasingly being diagnosed in older teens and adults, and in some it waxes and wanes across a lifespan. Whether its symptoms were missed earlier, developed later or are brought on by changing circumstances is unclear.

The new research, involving 2,587 sophomores and juniors attending public schools in Los Angeles County, raises the possibility that, for some, ADHD symptoms are brought on or exacerbated by the hyper-stimulating entreaties of a winking, pinging, vibrating, always-on marketplace of digital offerings that is as close as the wireless device in their pocket.

“We believe we are studying the occurrence of new symptoms that weren’t present at the beginning of the study,” said USC psychologist Adam M. Leventhal, the study’s senior author.

The study “is just the latest in a series of research findings showing that excessive use of digital media may have consequences for teens' well-being,” said San Diego State University psychologist Jean M. Twenge, who has conducted research on teens and smartphone use but was not involved in the new work.

Twenge’s research, published this year in the journal Emotion, explored a sharp decline in U.S. teens’ happiness and satisfaction since 2012. Combing through the data from 1.1 million teens, Twenge and her colleagues found dissatisfaction highest among those who spent the most time locked onto a screen. As time spent in offline activities increased, so did happiness.

Leventhal and his colleagues assessed the digital engagement of their 15- and 16-year-old subjects five times over a two-year period — when they first entered the study and four more times at six-month intervals. They asked the students to think back over the last week and report whether and how much they had engaged in 14 separate online activities. Those included checking social media sites, browsing the web, posting or commenting on online content, texting, playing games, video chatting, and streaming TV or movies...

Trump Calls Off Cold War II

It's Patrick Buchanan, at the American Conservative:

"European allies have freeloaded off U.S. defense while rolling up huge trade surpluses at our expense. Those days are over. Europeans are going to stop stealing our markets and start paying for their own defense. There will be no Cold War II." Buchanan: https://t.co/smXDYWl4ZH
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) July 17, 2018

Helsinki showed that Trump meant what he said when he declared repeatedly, “Peace with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.”

On Syria, Trump indicated that he and Putin are working with Bibi Netanyahu, who wants all Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias kept far from the Golan Heights. As for U.S. troops in Syria, says Trump, they will be coming out after ISIS is crushed, and we are 98 percent there.

That is another underlying message here: America is coming home from foreign wars and will be shedding foreign commitments.

Both before and after the Trump-Putin meeting, the cable news coverage was as hostile and hateful toward the president as any this writer has ever seen. The media may not be the “enemy of the people” Trump says they are, but many are implacable enemies of this president.

Some wanted Trump to emulate Nikita Khrushchev, who blew up the Paris summit in May 1960 over a failed U.S. intelligence operation — the U-2 spy plane shot down over the Urals just weeks earlier.

Khrushchev had demanded that Ike apologize. Ike refused, and Khrushchev exploded. Some media seemed to be hoping for just such a confrontation.

When Trump spoke of the “foolishness and stupidity” of the U.S. foreign policy establishment that contributed to this era of animosity in U.S.-Russia relations, what might he have had in mind?

Was it the U.S. provocatively moving NATO into Russia’s front yard after the collapse of the USSR?

Was it the U.S. invasion of Iraq to strip Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction he did not have that plunged us into endless wars of the Middle East?

Was it U.S. support of Syrian rebels determined to oust Bashar Assad, leading to ISIS intervention and a seven-year civil war with half a million dead, a war which Putin eventually entered to save his Syrian ally?

Was it George W. Bush’s abrogation of Richard Nixon’s ABM treaty and drive for a missile defense that caused Putin to break out of the Reagan INF treaty and start deploying cruise missiles to counter it?

Was it U.S. complicity in the Kiev coup that ousted the elected pro-Russian regime that caused Putin to seize Crimea to hold onto Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol?

Many Putin actions we condemn were reactions to what we did.

Russia annexed Crimea bloodlessly. But did not the U.S. bomb Serbia for 78 days to force Belgrade to surrender her cradle province of Kosovo?

How was that more moral than what Putin did in Crimea?

If Russian military intelligence hacked into the emails of the DNC, exposing how they stuck it to Bernie Sanders, Trump says he did not collude in it. Is there, after two years, any proof that he did?

Trump insists Russian meddling had no effect on the outcome in 2016 and he is not going to allow media obsession with Russiagate to interfere with establishing better relations.

Former CIA Director John Brennan rages that, “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki … was … treasonous. … He is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”

Well, as Patrick Henry said long ago, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”

'I'm literally a communist, you idiot...'

This is something else.

From Douglas Murray, at the Spectator U.K., "Does Teen Vogue understand what it means to be ‘literally a communist’?"

Nobody ever went to Teen Vogue for moral or political enlightenment. But who would have thought it would become an exemplar of a wider moral sewer https://t.co/da3QkaTPEv
— The Spectator (@spectator) July 18, 2018

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism

Here's the statement, at IHRA's home page, "Working Definition of Antisemitism."

I'm posting in response to the controversy of the U.K. Labour Party's rejection of the IHRA definition, with the significant political fallout thereof, as well as the push by the far-left Jewish Voice for Peace to redefine hateful racist criticism of Israel and acceptable and non-anti-Semitic.

See the Jewish News Service, "Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups urge rejection of anti-Semitism definition":

I have no words... Disgraceful.

Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups urge rejection of anti-Semitism definition https://t.co/YcbvTb0EHi via @JNS_org
— Andreas Fagerbakke (@afagerbakke) July 17, 2018

(July 17, 2018 / JNS) Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups from around the world have signed a statement rejecting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of anti-Semitism over its alleged conflation of anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel.

The statement, spearheaded by the anti-Israel U.S.-based group Jewish Voice for Peace, said that the IHRA definition, which has been adopted by a number of Western countries, “is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former.”

The statement said the conflation “undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism.”

“It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law,” the statement said. “Israel does not represent us and cannot speak for us when committing crimes against Palestinians and denying their UN-stipulated rights.”

Among the other U.S.-based groups that signed the letter are Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, Jews of Color & Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews and Jews Say No!

The statement by the far-left Jewish groups comes amid an intense debate within the United Kingdom’s Labour Party over the adoption of the IHRA definition...

And see the Jerusalem Post, "Outcry by UK Jewry as Labour adopts controversial antisemitism guidelines."

And just today, at Sky News, "Jeremy Corbyn to take action against MP Margaret Hodge, who branded him an 'anti-Semite'."

And Tal Ofer, on Twitter:

It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to terminate my membership of the Labour Party – A party I have supported throughout my life, a party I stood for as a candidate in local elections, a party that that was the natural home for British Jews #LabourAntisemitism pic.twitter.com/QfCLemaKmw
— Tal Ofer (@TalOfer) July 17, 2018

'The Labour party was my home – but anti-Semitism is forcing me to leave it'https://t.co/zSCRSqeGHX @NewStatesman @LabourAgainstAS @AntisemitismOut #LabourAntisemitism #EnoughIsEnough @BoardofDeputies
— Tal Ofer (@TalOfer) July 18, 2018

Ana Braga in Sheer Top

At Taxi Driver, "Ana Braga No Bra in Completely Sheer Top."

Monday, July 16, 2018

Jennifer Delacruz's Wonderful Weather Forecast

I can't complain. It's been beautiful warm summer weather.

Here's the fabulous Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:

Shopping Today

At Amazon, Today's Deals. New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

And especially, Echo Dot.

Also, Toshiba 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with HDR - Fire TV Edition.

More, Rogue River Tactical: USMC Marine Tactical Folding Pocket Knife G10 Handle Sharp Tanto Blade Spring Assisted Military Knives EGA Elite Survival Semper Fi.

Here, Buck Knives 863 Selkirk Fixed Blade Knife with Fire Striker and Nylon Sheath.

More here, FLYTON Camping Cookware Outdoor Cooking Mess Kit Portable Lightweight Pots Pans Water Kettle Set for Backpacking Hiking Trekking Picnic Fishing Mountaineering.

Plus, Olive Drab Green Warm Wool Fire Retardent Blanket, 66 x 90 (80% Wool)-US Military.

And, Premium Horny Goat Weed Extract with Maca & Tribulus, Enhanced Energy Complex for Men & Women, 1000mg Epimedium with Icariins, Veggie Capsules.

Also, MusclePharm Combat Protein Powder - Essential blend of Whey, Isolate, Casein and Egg Protein with BCAA's and Glutamine for Recovery, Chocolate Milk, 4 Pound.

BONUS: Katie Williams, Tell the Machine Goodnight: A Novel.

New Nina Agdal Bikini Shots

She's looks great!

At Drunken Stepfather, "NINA AGDAL BIKINI OF THE DAY."

Amazon’s Curious Case of the $2,630.52 Used Paperback

I see these exorbitantly priced books from time to time, and I totally dismiss them, because I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to pay these prices. I shop at public library used book sales, where most of my purchases are for 25 cents. At Amazon you might find the same book going for 200 times that.

At NYT:

Why is a bookseller on Amazon asking $2,000 for a 99-cent paperback? https://t.co/U4YGOV2Ap6
— NYTimes Tech (@nytimestech) July 16, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — Many booksellers on Amazon strive to sell their wares as cheaply as possible. That, after all, is usually how you make a sale in a competitive marketplace.

Other merchants favor a counterintuitive approach: Mark the price up to the moon.

“Zowie,” the romance author Deborah Macgillivray wrote on Twitter last month after she discovered copies of her 2009 novel, “One Snowy Knight,” being offered for four figures. One was going for “$2,630.52 & FREE Shipping,” she noted. Since other copies of the paperback were being sold elsewhere on Amazon for as little as 99 cents, she was perplexed.

“How many really sell at that price? Are they just hoping to snooker some poor soul?” Ms. Macgillivray wrote in an email. She noted that her blog had gotten an explosion in traffic from Russia. “Maybe Russian hackers do this in their spare time, making money on the side,” she said.

Amazon is by far the largest marketplace for both new and used books the world has ever seen, and is also one of the most inscrutable. The retailer directly sells some books, while others are sold by third parties. The wild pricing happens with the latter.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Twelve Russian Indicted in Election Hacking Scandal (VIDEO)

At LAT, "12 Russians indicted in hacking of Clinton's campaign and computers handling voter registration."

And at the Hill, via Memeorandum, "Trump on Russia indictment: Why didn't Obama do something?"

Plus, a great Hannity monologue from last night:

Kate Upton and Alexis Ren Journey to Aruba (VIDEO)

Pretty much my favorite pair of ladies.

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Xamira Zuloaga

She's a "Chilean-born performance and plastic artist based in Portland, Oregon."

At Editorials Fashion Trends, "Xamira Zuloaga by Pierre Dal Corso."

And watch, "WET by Mise en Cage."

Cindy Crawford Bikini

Always nice to see --- the women's super amazing at 52.

At Drunken Stepfather, "CINDY CRAWFORD WET BIKINI IN MUSKOKA OF THE DAY."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Cindy Crawford flaunts figure in purple and white printed bikini during holiday in Canada."

Evelyn Taft's Mild Weekend Forecast

It's been really nice. Not too hot at all.

Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Shopping Today

Prime deals, at Amazon, Today's Deals. New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

Also, Womens Sun Hat Foldable Floppy Travel Packable UV Summer Beach Straw Hats UPF50.

Plus, Hemlock Women Flat Shoes Leisure Boat Shoes Working Shoes Summer Beach Sandals Round Toe Shoes (US:8.5, Pink).

More, Utopia Towels Premium Quality Cabana Beach Towels - Pack of 4 Cabana Stripe Pool Towels (30 x 60 Inches) - Multi Color Towels with High Absorbency.

Still more, Banana Boat Sunscreen Sport Family Size Broad Spectrum Sun Care Sunscreen Lotion - SPF 50, 12 ounce.

And, Buck Knives 110 Famous Folding Hunter Knife with Genuine Leather Sheath.

Also, Premium Horny Goat Weed Extract with Maca & Tribulus, Enhanced Energy Complex for Men & Women, 1000mg Epimedium with Icariins, Veggie Capsules.

BONUS: Annie Proulx, Barkskins: A Novel.

New Poll Has Democrats Up 8-Points on the Generic Congressional Ballot

Up and down we go, where we stop nobody knows.

At Fox News, "Fox News Poll: Democrats ahead in election enthusiasm, interest -- and the vote":

Democrats are more interested in the upcoming midterm elections and more enthused to vote than usual, and that helps them to an 8-point edge in the generic congressional ballot test. This amid widespread concern that the country’s political debate is overheated and even dangerous -- to the point that many voters steer clear of talking politics with family and friends.

Fifty-four percent of Democrats are “extremely” interested in the November elections, and 51 percent are more enthusiastic about voting than usual, according to the latest Fox News national poll.

Republicans trail on both measures: 47 percent are extremely interested and 42 percent are more enthused.

Here’s the take-away: by a 48-40 percent margin, voters prefer the Democratic candidate in their congressional district over the Republican. Democrats were up 48-39 percent last month. The rule of thumb is the Democrats need to carry the generic ballot test by about 10 percentage points to take over the U.S. House this fall.

When the results are narrowed to only extremely interested voters, the Democratic advantage is 13 points: 54-41 percent.

“Things seem to move day to day, but the prevailing political wind favors the Democrats right now,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson.

“There’s still a lot of time until Election Day, but we’re close enough that polls like this should worry the Republicans.”

There’s a 14-point interest gap between Republican men and women, as 53 percent of GOP men are extremely interested, while 39 percent of GOP women say the same.

Among Democrats, 54 percent of men and 53 percent of women are extremely interested...

The election's still months away. I don't think Dems should get too excited, especially if they're planing on running and "Abolish ICE" platform.

But read the rest at the link.

Giant Baby Trump Blimp for Anti-Trump Protests in the U.K. (VIDEO)

At Vanity Fair, "Giant Baby Trump Balloon May Follow Trump All Over the U.K."

Alexis Ren Working It!

She's on Twitter.

And at Hollywood Tuna, "Alexis Ren Is Working Hard On Her Booty Pump!"

Also at Drunken Stepfather, "ALEXIS REN OF THE DAY":

This picture of Alexis Ren is hilarious because she had someone take it, looked at it, loved it, and posted it…knowing that people would be excited by it, knowing that despite it being pretty fucking aggressive, it’s what the people want…and she’s not going to be the one to not give it to them…so here she is giving it to them….I mean I’ve seen butt shots, I’ve seen over the shoulder butt shots, I’ve seen it all, I’ve probably even seen this pose..but it’s so hardcore, hard to believe she was one of the most followed “influencers”…I mean not really with posts like this…it’s the kind of thing I want to follow…

Sandra Kubicka

Another Instagram hottie.

At Drunken Stepfather, "SANDRA KUBICKA PHOTOSHOOT OF THE DAY."

Allie Stuckey vs. Tomi Lahren

Two blonde babes on the issues. The difference here is that Ms. Allie's an intellectual. She's hot, but she's not only smart but she's book-learned, especially Bible-learned. Ms. Tomi's not stupid, but she's more of an enraging personality. She makes strong points and gets you fired up. Sadly though no one is buying her pro-choice positions. She sounds rather pathetic about it, in fact.

Following-up from the other day, "Tomi Lahren Goes Off the Rails on Kavanaugh and the Right to Life (VIDEO)."

Oh, girl. The fact that you think overturning Roe v Wade has anything to do with religion shows how ignorant you are about the constitution & abortion itself.

Also, now YOU are dictating what conservatives should stand for? No thanks. https://t.co/TboXZQ37gI
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) July 11, 2018

Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said that she fears the fate of Roe v. Wade, with Trump's selection of Judge Kavanaugh.
Good.

Listen and SUBSCRIBE to @ConservMillen's podcast:https://t.co/QA2I31rA8v pic.twitter.com/wSlEg7ZuTH
— CRTV (@CRTV) July 11, 2018

President Trump Throws NATO Into Crisis (VIDEO)

Well, maybe NATO was already in crisis. Trump is just lifting the lid off.

At LAT, "Trump throws NATO summit into crisis mode with demands, before switching and claiming victory":

President Trump threw the annual NATO summit into crisis Thursday — forcing an emergency session and suggesting the United States could leave the nearly 70-year-old alliance — before switching positions and claiming victory.

As the summit closed, the president held an unexpected news conference, taking credit for having secured firmer commitments from all 28 other member nations to increase their spending on defense.

Other leaders, however, denied that NATO members had made any significantly new commitments to spending beyond what they’d agreed to in 2014, under some pressure from President Obama.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in his own closing news conference, said NATO members had made no new commitments. He also said that Trump "never at any moment, either in public or in private, threatened to withdraw from NATO."

From Brussels, Trump headed next to Britain on a diplomatic tour that will end Monday in Helsinki, Finland, with his first official meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Before departing for London, however, he sent some undiplomatic advance signals in his news conference — calling Britain a “hotspot,” noting the resignations that have threatened Prime Minister Theresa May’s government and questioning whether her “Brexit” plan for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union is what British voters want.

Trump at NATO’s close cast himself as a savior in a crisis of his own making. Yet in declaring victory and agreeing to sign a closing declaration — emphasizing joint defense against Russia — Trump avoided the debacle that he made of last month’s summit of the Group of 7 industrialized powers in Canada. There, as he flew off, he tweeted his withdrawal from the summit’s final statement and hurled insults at host Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, for his perceived slights.

In Brussels, Trump said that the NATO members committed to meet the already agreed-to goal of allocating an amount equal to 2% of each nation's gross domestic product toward defense spending, and that he would like to see the benchmark raised to 4% eventually.

"Yesterday, I let them know I was extremely unhappy with what was happening. And now we're very happy. We have a very powerful, very strong NATO — much stronger than it was two days ago,” Trump said at the 35-minute news conference here...

More.

Ben Shapiro's Legal Team Shuts Down 'Cock Boy' Appeal

Interesting.

At Twitchy, via Instapundit, "LED BY SUPERLAWYER KURT SCHLICHTER: Our long national nightmare is over: Ben Shapiro’s legal team cleans Clock Boy’s clock in appeals court."

Fishing Girls Trip (VIDEO)

Via Theo Spark:

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

University of California Boosts Transfer Admissions

This is interesting.

And it's very helpful for me as a professor, because with efforts by U.C. to increase transfers, and real data on the increased numbers, I can better prod my students to work hard toward attending the U.C. system.

At LAT, "UC opens doors to record number of Californians, led by growth in transfer students":

UC opens doors to record number of Californians, led by growth in transfer students https://t.co/COB6Cbm8NY pic.twitter.com/xvz9Syf0xo
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 11, 2018

The University of California opened its doors to a record number of Californians for fall 2018, led by growth in transfer students from across the state, according to preliminary data released Wednesday.

The public research university’s nine undergraduate campuses offered seats to 95,654 Californians, nearly 3,000 more students than last year. Overall, UC admitted about three-fifths of the 221,788 California, out-of-state and international students who applied.

“After reviewing yet another record-breaking number of applications, our campuses have offered admission to an exceptionally talented group of students,” UC President Janet Napolitano said in a statement. “With the benefit of a UC education, these accomplished young people from different backgrounds, with diverse beliefs and aspirations, will make California and the world a better place.”

The data reflect UC’s stepped-up efforts to reach more deeply across California for community college students, as it responds to growing pressure from Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature to open access for more residents.

Brown has long advocated the transfer option as a cheaper alternative to a four-year degree at a time the state is projected to face a 1.1-million shortfall in college-educated workers by 2030, and he has used his budget power to prod UC to adjust its admission policies. In recent years, state elected officials also have successfully pressed UC to boost enrollment of Californians and limit out-of-state and international students.

The mix of offers for freshmen and transfer students slightly shifted this year in response to such pressure. Most campuses increased offers to California transfer students and decreased them for freshmen.

UCLA, for instance, admitted 562 fewer freshmen but 64 more transfer students this year. Berkeley, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz also boosted their admission offers to state transfer students. Offers to California freshmen were down at Berkeley, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Cruz in addition to UCLA.

“Transfer students are the future of our university,” said Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, UCLA vice provost of enrollment management.

One of them is Francisco Cruz Tapia, a 24-year-old transfer student from Moreno Valley College who plans to study computer engineering at UCLA this fall. He said he chose to start at a community college to stay closer to family and save money. His costs were minimal, he said, because he lived at home and received a fee waiver for his classes.

At UCLA, his tuition and fees will be covered by Cal Grant and university aid, but he said he’ll need to pay rent in the pricey Westwood area. Cruz Tapia said, however, that the costs will be worth it for a chance to pursue his research interests in artificial intelligence.

“It was really challenging to transfer because I had to take a lot of math and physics classes, but I’m excited to go to one of the top universities in the nation,” Cruz Tapia said.

UCLA particularly focused on recruiting in the Central Valley this year as part of a joint effort between UC and California Community Colleges to increase students from areas with historically low transfer rates. Under the partnership, launched in September 2016, the college system gave UC $2.6 million to help students at 39 of its 114 community colleges become more competitive applicants.

Copeland-Morgan said the campus chose to work with four Central Valley colleges — San Joaquin Delta, Bakersfield, Solano and Reedley — because students there are more geographically isolated, often low-income and the first in their families to attend college. Many have less access to the resources and information needed to succeed in the competitive world of college admissions, she said.

Her recruiters made multiple trips to the colleges to help students and counselors understand how to become not only eligible but also competitive for UC admissions. UC requires a minimum 2.4 GPA for California transfer applicants, but Copeland-Morgan said most successful UCLA applicants have at least a 3.6 GPA..

UCLA boosted applications from those colleges by 29% and admission offers by 34% this year. Overall, the Westwood campus admitted students from 109 state community colleges...

RTWT.

Taylor Swift Bikini Shots

She looks good, healthy.

At Drunken Stepfather, "TAYLOR SWIFT IN A BIKINI WITH THEM TITS ON OF THE DAY."

Also, at the Sun U.K., "NAVEL GAZING: Taylor Swift shows off her rarely-seen belly button in a bikini on romantic holiday with boyfriend Joe Alwyn: After years of reluctance towards wearing clothes that show her navel, the pop star has exposed her stomach to fans."

Lucy Vixen Supports Team England by Bodypainting

On Twitter.

Myla Dalbesio Wearing Only Feathers (VIDEO)

She's a sweetie:

Joy Corrigan in Sheer Blouse

At Taxi Driver, "Joy Corrigan in Sheer Blouse."

Kavanaugh Coverage at the Other McCain

From Robert Stacy McCain, "Rhetorical Escalation":

After President Trump announced Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to the Supreme Court on Monday, Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) spent all day Tuesday engaged in a competition to demonize Kavanaugh. If you believe what Democrats tell you, Kavanaugh is the most extreme extremist in the history of extremism. How extreme is he? Extremely extreme! He’s not just a right-winger, he’s “far-right.” How far? Extremely far! He’s so extremely far right as to “threaten the lives of millions of Americans for decades,” to quote Clinton crony and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. (Hat-tip: Hogewash.)

The reader who isn’t tuned into the CNN/MSNBC/Democrat hysteria may wonder, how does a federal judge threaten millions of lives? On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Chuck Schumer said: “I will oppose this nomination with everything I’ve got. . . . This man should not be on the bench. . . . I believe he is far, far right on so many issues.” Schumer repeatedly asserted that the Kavanaugh nomination is somehow a threat to ObamaCare. Exactly how the Supreme Court affects healthcare legislation, Schumer didn’t specify, but he said that coverage for “pre-existing conditions,” which he described as “very popular” with the Democrat Party’s base, would be jeopardized if Kavanaugh is confirmed.

Because I don’t pay much attention to the paranoid fears of Democrats, it’s possible that Schumer is actually right about this. For all I know, there are cases pending in lower courts challenging elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which Democrats rammed through Congress on a party-line vote just a few months before they lost their majority in the 2010 midterm elections. The ACA’s mandate of coverage for “pre-existing conditions” was one of the worst job-killers in the bill. Requiring employers to provide insurance that covered whatever health problems the employee might have had before being hired meant that a lot of people simply couldn’t get hired, and this measure also sent health insurance rates skyrocketing, as insurers sought to compensate for the (often very expensive) treatments they were now required to cover.

One reason the economy started booming — and unemployment started declining — as soon as Trump was elected was that he promised to repeal ObamaCare and, by executive action, was able to limit the job-killing impact of this badly constructed legislation. If somehow the Supreme Court could render the entirety of ObamaCare null and void, good, although as I say, I’m not aware that this is likely, or even possible...

More.

Also at the Other McCain, "Democrats Use Kavanaugh Nomination in Congressional Fundraising Efforts."

Don't know about you, but I don't expect Kavanaugh to have a tough confirmation. Pro-choice Republicans (I know, oxymoron) Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have signaled their support for the nominee, and most of those red-state Democrats facing reelection this year are likely to fall in line (see the interesting Survey Monkey poll at Axios, "Democrats' Senate dream slips away.")

Kavanaugh will be borked, of course. But he's a decent family man and Democrat opposition to him is going to put the party on the wrong side of the American people, which is where the Democrats are most of the time anyway nowadays (*eye-roll*).

NATO in the News

It's time to realign NATO to reflect American interests. Donald Trump is doing that, and I'm all for it.

Most importantly, make NATO partners pay more. They can pay more for their own security. They can quit free-riding off the American hegemon.

Following-up from yesterday, "Allies Brace for Trump at NATO Summit (VIDEO)."

At Foreign Affairs, the American Interest, and the National Interest:

Since 2014, NATO has seen three consecutive years of growth in defense expenditure across European member states and Canada. https://t.co/Up5noxPWWs
— Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) July 10, 2018

The question of equitable burden-sharing will not go away. ⁦@TomaszSiemoniak⁩ ⁦@IgorJanke⁩ ⁦@RadioFreeTom⁩ ⁦@irishspy⁩ https://t.co/fvxpZcVzOT
— Andrew A. Michta (@andrewmichta) July 10, 2018

A Strategic Reset for NATO > Donald Trump's criticism that the alliance isn't fit for form is valid. NATO needs an overhaul. < https://t.co/b5qOPSQQiQ
— Panzer Leader (@ArmorCavSpin) July 10, 2018

Judeo-Christian Values Are the Real Counterculture

This video just popped up as recommended by YouTube, so I watched. It's old, from 2014, but Dennis Prager's worth watching. I love his wisdom, and it's wise to remind people that the leftist culture is the mainstream culture. Conservative values, and especially conservative religious values, are the counterculture

Here's Prager's recent book, at Amazon, The Rational Bible: Exodus.

And watch, at Prager U:

Tomi Lahren Goes Off the Rails on Kavanaugh and the Right to Life (VIDEO)

I'm not sure where she got these weird ideas, but Ms. Tomi's definitely "out there" on the politics of abortion. President Trump won evangelicals because he credibly promised to appoint socially conservative jurists, and the pro-life stand is the sine qua non of social conservatism.

She's been attacked as a "liberal" this week on Twitter, and for good reason at this point. She's digging a hole for herself. I like her spunk. And she's a fox. But c'mon, you're not "conservative" if you're pro-choice. Libertarian maybe, but definitely not conservative.

On Fox & Friends this morning: