Why Marriage Matters? For the Children, at Least

I tweeted about Nathaniel Frank's essay, "Why marriage Matters," the other day.

Now there's some responses at the letters to the editor, at the Los Angeles Times, "Letters: Children and same-sex marriage":

Re "Why marriage matters," Opinion, June 9

Nathaniel Frank's piece revealed a compressed view of same-sex marriage. Nowhere did it mention children — conveniently dismissed, it seems, as if marriage is simply a celebration of individual rights and public recognition.

Through the centuries, in vastly different cultures all over the world, marriage has been a religious and social institution because it is the single greatest unifier of men, women and children. It is self-evident that marriage is much more than Frank's idea of "sharing in the symbolic space of first-class citizenship." This reduces marriage to something akin to membership in an exclusive country club. Marriage has historically enabled the entire concept of family and society to flourish. And that, of course, includes children.

So while Frank may believe same-sex marriage is about rights, benefits and recognition, those are secondary considerations. Perhaps he should consider marriage as something selfless, something based on giving, not just getting.

Gary P. Taylor
Santa Ysabel, Calif.

It's all me, me, me! with the freak narcissist progressives. They're destroying the country, the leftist ghouls.

#Dodgers Smirk at Inadequate, Arbitrary Suspensions

At LAT, "MLB suspensions are serious business, but Dodgers get a laugh":

PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers reacted with bemusement and amusement Friday after Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions to Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks personnel for their roles in a violent brawl during the teams' game Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Aside from a clear disdain for Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy — whose 10-game suspension they viewed as insufficient after he struck rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig in the face with a fastball and nearly did the same to pitcher Zack Greinke — the Dodgers seemed to get a kick out of what they viewed as an arbitrary set of punishments.

How did Puig, who was seen throwing wild punches, escape with only a fine? Why was Dodgers utilityman Skip Schumaker, who was seen pulling players apart, suspended for two games? Why was Diamondbacks infielder Eric Hinske, who was described by the Dodgers as a "peacemaker" and "punching bag," hit with a five-game ban?

Those questions and others were a source of laughter for the Dodgers before and after their 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park.

Five Dodgers were suspended, but the penalties were relatively light. Schumaker, reliever J.P. Howell and hitting coach Mark McGwire received two-game suspensions, and Manager Don Mattingly and reliever Ronald Belisario received one-game suspensions.

Mattingly and Belisario served their suspensions Friday night and McGwire started to serve his. Schumaker and Howell are appealing their penalties, though Howell conceded that he might not have a case, as he was caught on camera nearly flipping a Diamondbacks coach into a camera well.

Greinke and Puig were fined, as were the Dodgers for allowing players on the disabled list to leave their bench.

Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson received a one-game suspension. Kennedy and Hinske are appealing their suspensions. Catcher Miguel Montero and outfielder Gerardo Parra were fined but not suspended.

Hinske was in disbelief, saying his only crime was getting in the way of Puig's fist, which hit him in the back when he was doubled over.

"I didn't throw any punches and I had punches thrown at me by Puig," Hinske told reporters in San Diego. "He gets no games. I get five. You tell me what's right there."

More at the link.

Chinese Authorities Block Winnie the Pooh and Tigger

Something that funny just can't be allowed to stand.

At Telegraph UK, "Chinese censors target Winnie the Pooh and Tigger":

China’s army of internet censors have picked an unusual target in their battle to wipe dissent from the country’s computer screens: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

This was the most popular picture on Weibo for most of Tuesday: pic.twitter.com/2wSqpGtOJG
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) June 13, 2013

Horrible Jellyfish Attacks Thwart Chloë McCardel Cuba-to-Florida Swim

Following up on this story, see London's Daily Mail, "'It's like fireballs in every fiber... I even had a tentacle coming out of my mouth': Woman reveals jellyfish attacks that ended her dream of becoming first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage."

Smokin' Bikini Model Shendelle Schokman at Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas

She's nice.

FLASHBACK: "Hot Shendelle Schokman Bikini Video."

'The Bling Ring'

A movie review from Betsy Sharkey, at the Los Angeles Times, "Review: Sofia Coppola's 'Bling Ring' a pretty, empty Hollywood tale":

For a brief and blinding moment in 2009, the Bling Ring crime spree ruled the social networks, TV news cycles and front pages of newspapers around the globe, including this one. At the time, I was bothered by the way the stories about a gang of affluent teen fashionistas stealing from trend-setting local celebrities underscored our out-of-control obsession with fame.

Sofia Coppola's new movie about the real-life Hollywood caper does not bring any comfort.

"The Bling Ring" is a warped tour of the teens' short but lucrative run when they lifted more than $3 million in luxe goods from the homes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and others. Jewelry was their spoil of choice, thus the name.

One of the complexities of watching "The Bling Ring" is figuring out which subset of humanity to dislike the most. All in this sardonic tragedy are distinctly sketched in by the filmmaker.

The obvious choice would be the larcenous teens from tony San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. They are brought to vacuous life by the movie's stars: Emma Watson portrays flirty Nicki, her clipped British accent disappearing inside Valley-girl speak, her time spent in front of mirrors alarming. Taissa Farmiga plays Sam, the wild one, or perhaps the wildest one would be more accurate.

Impressive newcomer Katie Chang steps in as Bling Ring mastermind and driven shopaholic Rebecca. Marc (Israel Broussard) is the new kid at school and the one who has the best fashion sense. Chloe (Claire Julien) is so beautifully blond she can't be bothered.

They are model-thin, arrogant and camera-ready — despite Marc's worry that he doesn't have an A-list face. Their sense of entitlement and complete lack of a moral center make them a tough bunch to like.

And yet, meet the parents...

Continue reading.

John Galliano, Disgraced Fashion Designer, Can't Remember Anti-Semitic Outburst

Or so he says, in this interview with Charlie Rose:

And see LAT, "John Galliano's first TV sitdown, the cheat sheet."

Right Now, #Angels Are the Second-Worst Team in the American League

Well, they took it tonight against the Yankees.

#Angels win, beat Yanks. Big Bang Friday #LTBU pic.twitter.com/fvgYpprtmC

— Annette Irwin (@AnnetteIrwin27) June 15, 2013

But the Angels are at the bottom of the standings.

Winning World Series seems like an impossible dream for #Angels. Playing for pride might be best bet right now. http://t.co/xjsBnfuWhs

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) June 14, 2013

Moderate Candidate Has Early Lead in Iran's Presidential Election

The Lede has a big live blog, "Latest Updates on Election Day in Iran."

And see, "Moderate in Iranian Election Leads in Initial Returns":

TEHRAN — Iranian voters turned out in huge numbers on Friday, a late surge of interest in the presidential vote that seemed to swing the tide in the favor of the most moderate candidate in the field. But it was uncertain whether any single contestant would exceed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff next week.

With long lines at the polls, voting hours were extended by five hours in parts of Tehran and four hours in the rest of the country. Turnout reached 75 percent, by official count, as disaffected members of the Green Movement, which was crushed in the uprising that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election, dropped a threatened boycott and appeared to coalesce behind a cleric, Hassan Rowhani, and the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf.

Iran’s interior minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, said Saturday morning on state television that preliminary results showed Mr. Rowhani with a strong lead, followed by Mr. Ghalibaf. Mr. Najjar did not say when the final result would be available. Iran has more than 50 million eligible voters and as of early Saturday morning nearly three million votes had been counted.

If Rouhani wins, the biggest winner is the Iranian people. Biggest losers are Khamenei, Netanyahu, and DC neo-cons. #IranElection
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) June 15, 2013

And check #IranElection on Twitter for additional updates.

Taylor Rosenbauer

My son likes to fingerboard, and he's good at it

He wanted me to post this video.

This kid at the clip, Taylor Rosenbauer, is one of the best fingerboarders.

Beltway Establishment Renders Harsh Verdict on Edward Snowden

Here's Politico's piece from the other day, "Establishment renders harsh verdict on Edward Snowden":

He is the toast of the libertarian left and the libertarian right. But for most of the political establishment, across the ideological spectrum, it has taken only a few days to conclude that Edward Snowden is nothing less than a dangerous villain.

If any part of Snowden hoped for a Pentagon Papers-style response to his leaks – a round of applause across Washington and New York at the daring revelation of secret national security information – this week certainly shattered any such illusion.

Ask nearly anyone in a position of authority in Washington and you will get a similar judgment on Snowden, the 29-year-old former defense contractor who exposed a vast National Security Agency surveillance program in multiple newspapers last week.

Continue reading.

And then check Kirsten Powers, "The Sickening Snowden Backlash":

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper blatantly lied to Congress about the activity of the NSA, and there seems to be no ramifications. Yet the Washington establishment wants to put Snowden in jail and throw away the key for telling the truth. We are told to blindly respect an institution that persecutes whistleblowers for leaks of overclassified government information while watching the Obama administration’s leaking of secret government information to aggrandize the president during his reelection campaign. So, please tell us more about how we should have more respect for our institutions.

She has a good point.

More at the link.

But as readers know, I don't trust the motives of people like Snowden --- who is no patriot in my book --- and I consider government's most basic role as protecting its citizens, Hence,  I accept the tradeoff between liberty and security. To the extent there's a problem, it's in the context of this administration's serial scandals, complete lack of accountability, and utter hypocrisy. It's progress for the leftists to be criticizing these programs. But we're nowhere where we were when Bush was in office, during which Democrats called for impeachment over warrantless wiretapping. No, there are some like Greenwald who're consistent. And I like Kirsten Powers, but folks should be thinking about finding the balance between honest disclosure and protecting the homeland. The full-blown crusade to turn this into the ultimate scandal of Big Brother totalitarianism is pretty laughable.

More from Max Boot, "Stay calm and let the NSA carry on":

The real scandal here is that the Guardian and Washington Post are compromising our national security by telling our enemies about our intelligence-gathering capabilities. Their news stories reveal, for example, that only nine Internet companies share information with the NSA. This is a virtual invitation to terrorists to use other Internet outlets for searches, email, apps and all the rest.

No intelligence effort can ever keep us 100% safe, but to stop or scale back the NSA's special intelligence efforts would amount to unilateral disarmament in a war against terrorism that is far from over...

Continue reading.

Charles Krauthammer: Obama’s Syria Response 'Preposterous'

Yeah, it's all messed up, and there ain't a whole helluva lot we can do to make things better, in any case.

Arming al Qaeda terrorists? Sounds like a winner (snark).

PBS NewsHour Stuggles in New Media Marketplace

I like PBS News Hour.

Sure, it's a leftist show, but it reminds me of the older age of journalism. I don't watch it much anymore, mostly because I'm blogging, or watching Fox News or sports, although I catch a segment on YouTube now and then.

At the New York Times, "Venerable Format of ‘NewsHour’ Struggles With New Era of Media":

For many of its 38 years, the sober studio-interview format of the “PBS NewsHour” has served the program well, drawing viewers and corporate underwriters alike. But with a deep financing crisis forcing layoffs and other cutbacks this week, some public television employees believe that format — and a general unwillingness to embrace the digital realities facing journalism — may be jeopardizing the program’s future.

“NewsHour” came under criticism in a confidential May 2012 report commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the program’s major supporters in recent years, that concluded bluntly that the program needed to aggressively “modernize news gathering production.”

The report stressed the need for a major reorganization that included developing new digital platforms and clarifying its editorial focus. It also said more “decision-making transparency” was needed from MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the profit-making company that co-produces the program for PBS. (The company is controlled by Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, its founding anchors. Washington public television station WETA is the other producer.)

The pressures facing “NewsHour” are not unique. “What every traditional media organization is confronted with today is how to change profoundly to reflect the revolution in how people consume media,” said a former CNN bureau chief, Frank Sesno, now director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. But many organizations have moved more quickly to adapt, equipping producers with inexpensive video cameras to reduce news gathering costs, and investing in online and mobile platforms.

Mr. Sesno said that he “desperately” wants “NewsHour” to succeed. “They’ve got to figure out how to do the deeper dive and bring people along with them,” he said, by developing more of a conversation with the audience and becoming a “multimedia information experience. You can’t just be a TV show anymore.”

More at the link.

Well, everything's shaking out. The fact that I don't watch the show anymore is indicative of the problem. It's hard to sit down, around dinner time, and consume an hour-long news segment that's sort of fuddy-duddy in approach. I like the old-school vibe, but Frank Sesno's write: You gotta bring in people with you, make it somewhat interactive, and engage your constituency.

In any case, at the video is Kashmir Hill, who's a privacy blogger at Forbes, and Victor Mayer-Schönberger, who has the the May-June cover article at Foreign Affairs, "The Rise of Big Data: How It's Changing the Way We Think About the World."

So There Was No Economic Incentive to Buy the Electric Cars...

At Caroline Glick's, "Oil brings us to a better place..."

It's about Better Place Corporation's attempt to build an electric car company in Israel. Didn't work out so great, actually:

What failed with Better Place wasn't the idea of Israeli hi-tech prowess and ingenuity. What failed - again - was the notion that there is a way to use alternative energy sources - like electricity - to replace the internal combustion engine. And there isn't. There isn't because laws of supply and demand govern the economics of the car industry even when Shai Agassi is the one selling alternative economic laws.

A great piece.

RTWT.

'We Will Never Again Have a Republican President...'

Michele Bachmann has a stark warning:

Big Rule 5 Afternoon

Via Guns and Bikinis.

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart (on Friday): Miss Panama Carolina Brid."

Also at Reaganite, "As Seen on RedEye w/Gutfeld!: Fox NY- Fox Business Channel's Anna Gilligan." And at Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, "The Friday Pin Up."

More at Pitsnipes and Gripes, "Who's up for a game of beer pong?" And the Right Way, "Friday Babe."

Now over to the Last Tradition, "Teyana Taylor Shows Off Bikini Body." And from Gator Doug, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Camille Washington."

And at Pirate's Cove, "If All You See……is an evil dog which sucks up all the resources of the world causing the oceans to boil, you might just be a Warmist."

Also, at Drunken Stepfather, "BAMBI NORTHWOOD-BLYTH TITTIES FOR VOGUE OF THE DAY."

And at Blackmailers Don't Shoot, "Pretty Girls on a Thursday: Pin-Up Edition," and "Pretty Girls on a Thursday, Git ‘Er Done Edition."

Check Theo's as well, "Red Friday Totty," and "Bonus Totty..."

More at TCOTs, "Rule 5 News: 08 June 2013 A.D.," and the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday."

Still more at Conservative Hideout, "Girls and Guns, and did I Mention Links? June 12, 2013."

As always, drop your links in the comments if I've missed you and I'll update.

ADDED: From Animal Magnetism, "Rule Five Friday – Animal’s Manifesto, Part Nine."

Forensic Analysis Confirms Sharyl Attkisson Computer Hacked

As if there was ever any doubt.

At Big Journalism, "CBS NEWS: SHARYL ATTKISSON'S COMPUTER HACKED 'MULTIPLE TIMES'."

Also, from Twitchy, "Sharyl Attkisson: CBS confirmed my computer was hacked ‘on multiple occasions’." (Via Memeorandum.)

USA Today Publishes BDS Press Release Almost Word for Word, Accuses Israel of 'Large-Scale Abuses of Palestinian Rights...'

I posted on this earlier, "Alicia Keys Urged to Cancel 4th of July Concert in Israel."

But I guess they cribbed the piece almost word for word from the BDS Nazis.

At Algemeiner:

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel found itself a friend in major American newspaper USA Today recently, when a press release about its efforts to have Alicia Keys cancel her upcoming show in Israel appeared almost verbatim in an article on the newspaper’s website.

The American Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg first tweeted about the disturbing similarities Thursday, a day after the article appeared. “@USATODAY ran a BDS press release as a story. Here’s the newspaper piece Here’s the release” he wrote.

Sheesh. I'll first check with BDS before reading MSM media accounts on the boycott.

More at the link.

Turkey Protests Mobilize the Slingshot Grandmas Constituency

Via the Blaze, "A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS: MEANWHILE, IN TURKEY…"

Hat Tip: Meredith Jessup, on Twitter.

Let's Get It Started With Some Page 3 Girls!

Via the Sun UK, on Twitter.

Meanwhile, National Review campaign reporter Jim Geraghty takes issue with John Hawkins' top 20 conservative hotties. See, "Why I’m a Wary of Even Good-Natured Pundit Beauty Contests."

Well, I guess you gotta be PC to stay in the top ranks of the conservative media game. I'm just not playing that game.

PREVIOUSLY: "Are You Freakin' Kiddin' Me? — Michelle Fields Should Be Tops in Any Hottest Conservative Women Roundup!"

ADDED: Check out some Scarlet Bouvier on Twitter!