Who's This Hot Celebrity Stepping Out of a Car?

A funny TMZ video:

Canada's Socialist Teachers Brainwash Students

Well, it's not just Canada, obviously.

But see Blazing Cat Fur.

Pamela Geller: 'With Friends Like These...'

There's been some significant developments since Britain banned Pamela Geller.

At Atlas Shrugs, "WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE ......"

Also, "MORE FRIENDLY FIRE."

It turns out that Melanie Phillips had some not so supportive things to say about the whole thing, at her blog, "The British government's jihad against free thought." It's an otherwise quite excellent denunciation of the cowardice of the British government, all except Phillips completely declaims Pamela and Robert Spencer. If anyone is diminished it's Ms. Phillips:

By banning from the country as extremists the American anti-jihadis Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, the Home Secretary Teresa May has not only made herself look ridiculous but has sent the enemies of the United Kingdom the message that they have it on the run.

I do not support the approach taken by either Geller or Spencer to the problem of Islamic extremism. Both have endorsed groups such as the EDL and others which at best do not deal with the thuggish elements in their ranks and at worst are truly racist or xenophobic.

The result has been a serious blow to the credibility of these two writers, with particular damage being done to Spencer whose scholarship in itself is scrupulous. It has also split the defence against Islamic extremism, and handed a potent propaganda weapon to those who seek falsely to portray as bigoted extremists all who are engaged in the defence of the west against the Islamic jihad.

The bitter irony here is that Ms. Phillips is nearly as reviled as is Pamela, and if she wasn't British she'd long ago have been banished from the country one way or another. The Times of Israel has more on that, "The woman Britain's left loves to hate." She has a new book out called "Guardian Angel." And from what I've been reading of her lately she's attempting to reposition herself on the left, hence, she's been frequently seen as softening her attacks on Islam. It's too bad, but it's not easy standing up for truth, consistently and with no prevarication.

In any case, I took to Twitter this afternoon to express some thoughts about all of this:

Enemies of freedom are winning, people. I #StandWithPamelaGeller when weaselly so-called freedom fighters say they do but really don't.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

@AmPowerBlog I couldn’t believe Melanie Phillips. I expected better from her.

— Natasha (@mooseandskwerl) June 28, 2013

@MooseandSkwerl She's really a leftist who's upset with social change. She can't go all the way and defend people like Pamela Geller.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

I stand with @MaroonedInMarin too. A great blogger and patriot freedom fighter. #FF

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

Freedom fighters don't whine about counter jihadists being "shrill." That's adopting the tactics of the left. Resist that. Stand and fight!

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

If conservatives have learned anything it's that the left will use any means necessary to destroy patriots and freedom fighters. Don't cave.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

It doesn't mean you have to pick a fight with everyone who has a difference of opinion. Simply that you there is a time to stand and fight.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

Thank you my friend! RT @AmPowerBlog: I stand with @MaroonedInMarin too. A great blogger and patriot freedom fighter. #FF

— Marooned in Marin (@MaroonedInMarin) June 28, 2013

This is one of those times. When you are banned from a democracy based on the lies of the left, no one is safe. People will come for you.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

And regarding Britain, we can now only loosely apply the democratic label. Home Secretary Theresa May has cravenly capitulated to true evil.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

I stand with @AmPowerBlog a great writer & Patriot #FF

— Marooned in Marin (@MaroonedInMarin) June 28, 2013

And the lies are so thick you'd need an ICBM to break through them. This is not new, friends. Terror-enablers stop at nothing to push jihad.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

Why do you think leftists back the most hardened terrorists and demonize counter-jihadists? They both want the same thing, destruction...

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

...and by destruction, I mean destruction of goodness, decency, values and tradition. That's what stands up to nihilism and relativism.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

And bet your bottom dollar the MSM goons are in on this, for they attack @PamelaGeller with a glee that's truly criminal. Stand against it.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

Have people forgotten the warnings of Pastor Martin Niemöller? This isn't fun and games. You have skin in the game without realizing it.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

My friend @RSMcCain is standing up as I write all this. See his post, "The Face of Cowardice: Theresa May." http://t.co/vPW6yUb4VB #Freedom

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

#FF @Sultanknish @MarkTapson @CraigR3521 @Vermontaigne @ZillaStevenson @JihadWatchRS @SouthSalem @BigFurHat @BlazingCatFur @MadJewessWoman

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 28, 2013

And click on this:

RT @MrsShitrit: I want to post this again by hope not hate - controversial twitter Auschwitz post https://t.co/YayqWtYeRT

— Pamela Geller (@pamelageller) June 28, 2013

And this:

A gross double-standard over hate-speech: http://t.co/8FxoggY5zc

— Douglas Murray (@DouglasKMurray) June 27, 2013

BONUS: There's further background, with embedded tweets, at the New York Times, "American Declared Blogger Non Grata in Britain for Anti-Islam Crusade."

Prop. 8 Ruling Worries Direct Democracy Activists

It's long been one of my biggest peeves that the State of California refused to defend Proposition 8 in federal court. This is a classic example of the permanent political class usurping the popular will, simply because it disagrees with the popular will.

And a precedent is being set. As the Los Angeles Times reports, "Prop. 8 ruling raises fears about effects on other initiatives."

And Wirecutter expresses some contempt for the elite know-it-alls, "No more. I’m done":

Fuck this shit.

Between a sitting President that uses voter fraud and bribery to win an election and the Supreme Court deciding that We, The People are wrong and overturning our fucking decisions, I will never enter a voting booth again.

We, The People decided that same sex marriage will not be tolerated in the state of Kalifornia and the Supremes decided that we don’t know what the fuck we want or what our morals are.

We know, we voted and they overturned OUR decisions.

I’m not going to waste my fucking time anymore.

And the sponsors of Prop. 8 aren't happy with the extremely fast move to allow marriages to proceed, "Prop. 8 authors denounce restart of gay marriages in California."

Well, it's a done deal now. Time to move onto the next battle.

Catherine Kieu Sentenced to Seven Years to Life for Cutting Off Her Ex-Husband's Penis

I reported on this at the time of the crime.

And here's the news out today, at the Los Angeles Times, "Woman who cut off husband's penis gets 7 years to life in prison."

Kris Perry and Sandy Stier Marry After 9th Circuit Lifts Stay on Homosexual Marriages

At Towleroad, "Prop 8 Plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier Marry in California."

PHOTO: Kris Perry and Sandy Stier getting married at San Francisco City Hall http://t.co/nJo8TGoz5S pic.twitter.com/iycrKYBh3n
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 28, 2013

Also at Buzz Feed, "Court Lifts Stay, Same-Sex Couples Marrying Again In California." (Via Memeorandum.)

Ninth Circuit Lifts Stay on Homosexual Marriages in California

Just saw this right now on Twitter:

#BREAKINGNEWS 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifts stay on same-sex marriages in California, marriages can now resume.
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 28, 2013

More at KGO-TV San Francisco, "9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifts stay on Proposition 8":

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A federal appeals court says it is lifting its freeze on same-sex marriages in California and the state is required to issue licenses to gay couples starting immediately.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order Friday saying it's lifting the stay it imposed while a lawsuit challenging California's gay marriage ban worked its way through the courts.

That means same-sex marriages can resume in the state for the first time since 2008.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that the sponsors of California's voter-approved gay marriage ban lacked the authority to defend Proposition 8 in court once the governor and state attorney general refused to do so.

The decision lets stand a trial judge's declaration that the ban violates the civil rights of gay Californians and cannot be enforced.

According to Manny Rivera, a spokesman for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the first pair to be married following the action will be one of the two plaintiff couples, Kris Perry and Sandra Stier, of Berkeley.

They will be married at San Francisco City Hall at 4:15 p.m.

Just keep it humble, progs. Keep it humble and keep cool toward people of difference.

Bert and Ernie's 'Moment of Joy' — The New Yorker's #DOMA Cover

The left has not greeted the Supreme Court's same-sex rulings with humility, and I doubt the in-your-face homo bitch-slapping celebrations will go over well with the general public in upcoming elections. But hey, it's well wort the lulz.

At Twitchy, "Paging Sesame: Bert and Ernie share cuddly ‘Moment of Joy’ on The New Yorker’s DOMA cover." And reactions at Memeorandum.

Yasiel Puig Continues His Stunning Debut With the Los Angeles #Dodgers

I was watching last night when Puig hit a go-ahead single in the bottom of the seventh. At LAT, "Yasiel Puig pulls Dodgers to sixth win in a row."

And from Bill Plaschke, "Yasiel Puig seems able to put on a show, whatever he does":

It was two hours before the first pitch Thursday, and the Dodger Stadium tour guide was ushering a dozen fans from the seats behind home plate when one of them stopped.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Puig is hitting."

"But…," said the tour guide.

"No, no, no," said another fan. "Puig is hitting."

The entire group halted to witness the hottest debuting hitter in Dodgers history take batting practice. Turns out they could have done it with their eyes closed.

BOX SCORE: Dodgers 6, Philadelphia 4

Thwack! Home run. Boom! Home run. Bang! Ball off the wall.

After Puig had turned the first three pitches into something that sounded like a cartoon brawl, the tour guide sighed.

"OK," he said. "We'll stick around and watch Puig."

We will, indeed. As the Southern California summer moves from soft to sticky, we'll crowd into Chavez Ravine to stand under the 22-year-old Dodgers sensation as if he were a wildly refreshing sprinkler.

He sprayed amazement again Thursday night in a 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that left one Matt Kemp as breathless as the rest of us.

"Puig, man, he's an amazing kid," Kemp said afterward.

Soak him in, L.A.

Puig has played just 23 games. That video at top was posted after his breakout week early this month.

Continue reading at the link.

Smokin' Hot Carissa Rosario Goes Topless Sunbathing in New York, Gawkers Run to the Rooftops!

This is hilarious, at the New York Post, "Maxim babe pops top":

Maxim pinup Carissa Rosario wanted to ensure she had no visible tan lines for the NBA Draft Week event she hosted — and caused a commotion by sunbathing nearly nude in Midtown.

Needless to say, the event had to be cut short, as you can see why, via Twitter:

“@TweetBreezies: The smoking hot @carissarosario. #TweetBreezies #HonorRoll pic.twitter.com/eTeYoVPy8f” thanks 4 the luv 😉☺

— Carissa Rosario (@carissarosario) May 30, 2013

National Homosexual Marriage is Inevitable

I don't doubt it, but Charles Krauthammer makes the case, at the Washington Post, "Nationalized gay marriage, now inevitable." (Via Memeorandum.)

And Owen Kerr explains how the Court is likely to hand down a constitutional right to homo-marriage outright, at Volokh, "A Punt, But For How Long?"

Best bet for conservatives is to let this ruling sink in and then come back to it politically at election time. Support for homo-marriage is still narrowly divided, even in lefty states like California where if not for diabolical hard-left thuggery and deception the Prop. 8 decision would have never been upheld in federal court in the first place.

Not only that, the radical left is getting pushy, and will likely foment a backlash. See, "After #DOMA Ruling, Much Work to Be Done for Statutory Rape Equality."

Obama Rolls Out Red Carpet for Vile Jew-Hating Cleric Abdullah Bin Bayyah

Here's the report at the Investigative Project on Terrorism, "Exclusive: Banned Cleric's Outspoken Deputy Visits White House." And at Fox News, "Official confirms, defends White House meeting with controversial Muslim scholar."

And here the analysis at Michelle Malkin's, "Another White House play date with Muslim jihad":

Bin Bayyah’s moderate Muslim costume shouldn’t fool anyone. This sharia thug, who has worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to boost his progressive-friendly cred, lobbied the United Nations to outlaw all mockery and criticism of Allah. He raised money to benefit the terror group Hamas. He is a top lieutenant of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Qaradawi, who exhorts followers to kill every last Jew; sanctioned suicide bombings and the killing of our soldiers; expressed support for executing apostates and stoning gays; and declared that the “U.S. is an enemy of Islam that has already declared war on Islam under the disguise of war on terrorism and provides Israel with unlimited support.”

As jihad watchdogs have reported, the administration has rolled out the red carpet for dozens of Muslim Brotherhood officers, flacks and sympathizers. IPT noted last year: “White House visitor logs show that top U.S. policy-makers are soliciting and receiving advice from people who, at best, view the war on terrorism as an unchecked war on Muslims. These persons’ perspectives and preferred policies handcuff law enforcement and weaken our resolve when it comes to confronting terrorism.”

No kidding. Another Qaradawi cheerleader, Hisham al-Talib, was welcomed last spring at the White House by Obama’s Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Four days later, White House officials welcomed a foreign delegation of the radical sharia-enforcing Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt. As I reported previously, al-Talib is an Iraqi-born Muslim identified by the FBI as a Muslim Brotherhood operative and a major contributor to the left-wing Center for Constitutional Rights, the group of jihadi-sympathizing lawyers who helped spring suspected Benghazi terror plotter Abu Sufian bin Qumu from Gitmo....

We need a zero tolerance policy for jihadist infiltrators and coddlers in Washington. Let’s make the most transparent administration ever live up to the hype. I suggest the White House be required to raise the black flag of Islamic jihad at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue every time President Obama welcomes these treacherous visitors.

Even better: Let’s take a page from Kanye West and project the names of all the Ikhwan-linked goons who are allowed to darken the White House doorstep onto the side of the Old Executive Office Building for all to see — along with their most infamous hate videos and fatwas against Jews, infidels, gays, women and U.S. soldiers. No more play dates with Muslim jihad behind closed doors. Light ‘em up.

Once again, this is the "progressive left" in action. Where are the denunciations for the troll rights harassers around the web? (Toe tapping ....) Oh, not forthcoming. No surprise.

See also Bare Naked Islam, "OBAMA REGIME warmly welcomes to the White House, deputy of terrorist suicide bombers-endorsing cleric banned in the US and UK."

Michelle Fields on Red Eye Debating Immigration and Polygamy

This is a bit too libertarian-ish for me, but funny nevertheless.

European Union Diktats Forcing Energy Rationing in Great Britain

Bad karma from all the cowardly political correctness, no doubt.

At London's Daily Mail, "Electricity to be rationed: Power cuts in 2 years unless industry cuts back, warns regulator."

Britain could face a return to Seventies-style power rationing to prevent blackouts.

The disturbing news came amid warnings that the country may not be producing enough energy to keep the lights on by 2015.

Offices and factories could be ‘bribed’ to close for up to four hours a day during the winter to prevent households losing power.

Energy regulator Ofgem said the country faced an ‘unprecedented challenge’ as coal-fired plants are closed by European Union diktats on the environment.

Well, frankly, Obama's war on fossil fuels promises to put America on the fast lane to British-style rationing. Perish the thought, I know. But it's happening.

South Africa Prepares for Mandela's Passing

At WSJ, "Flowers, Cards, Hope Pile Up for Mandela":

JOHANNESBURG—The life of Nelson Mandela appeared to hang in the balance Thursday morning, as family members visited the Pretoria hospital where he was undergoing treatment and neighbors from his rural ancestral town prepared for the passing of South Africa's former president.

"Yes, tata's situation is critical…he doesn't look good," Mr. Mandela's oldest living daughter, Pumla Makaziwe Mandela, said in an interview Thursday on South African state television, using the local term of respect for an older person.

"But I think that for us as his children and grandchildren we still have this hope because you know when we talk to him he will flutter, trying to open his eyes and will open his eyes, when you touch him he still responds," she said.

On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma paid his second visit to the hospital in less than 24 hours in order to confer with Mr. Mandela's doctors. In a statement, Mr. Zuma said he was informed by the medical team that Mr. Mandela's condition "has improved during the course of the night. He remains critical but is now stable."

Late Wednesday, Mr. Zuma canceled plans to attend an infrastructure-investment conference in neighboring Mozambique, after conferring with Mr. Mandela's doctors at the Pretoria hospital where he was admitted June 8 to treat a lung infection.

Mr. Zuma's spokesman, Mac Maharaj, wouldn't confirm news reports that Mr. Mandela is on life support, or say whether Mr. Zuma planned to visit him again on Thursday.

Mr. Mandela, a revered champion of peace and racial equality who became South Africa's first black, freely elected president in 1994, has been hospitalized four times since December and suffered a string of respiratory ailments stretching back to the tuberculosis he contracted during 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa's former white-minority government.

Dozens of reporters and satellite trucks have converged outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria. They track every visit by family members and government officials—and capture the hopes and memories of well-wishers who have left a mounting pile of flowers, cards and balloons outside the hospital's gates.

Continue reading.

Britney Spears Animated GIF Album Covers

At BuzzFeed, "Every Britney Spears Album Cover As An Animated GIF."

Obama Visits Senegal

He always visits the slave houses. Why that's a priority, well, that's only explicable from the Obama-leftist self-demonology of perpetual apology for America's alleged past sins.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Obama begins Africa tour, visits Senegal slave house":

DAKAR, Senegal — President Obama arrived in this corner of West Africa to deliver messages about civil society and good governance, democracy and development. Senegal's message to him was simpler: Welcome home.

The greeting was plastered on signs and T-shirts wherever Obama went Thursday during his first full day of a weeklong, three-country trip to Africa. Although Obama was born and largely raised in Hawaii, his father was born and is buried in Kenya, and on this day Senegal treated the president as one of its own. Lampposts were covered with signs reading, "Welcome home, Mr. President." The greeting, and Obama's likeness, appeared everywhere. Crowds of people danced and waved.

Obama seemed to claim Senegal too, shaking hands and posing for pictures, but also acknowledging the dark history of slavery the country shares with the United States.

The president and his family visited a small slave house on Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, the nation's capital, where it is said men, women and children were traded, sorted, shackled and weighed before being sent across the Atlantic to the Americas.

The president stared pensively out the "door of no return," described as the exit for those boarding slave ships, while spending about half an hour in the two-story salmon-colored house filled with dark holding cells.

"Obviously, for an African American — and an African American president — to be able to visit this site, I think, gives me even greater motivation in terms of the defense of human rights around the world," Obama said afterward.

The president doesn't care about human rights. He cares about power. If touting his so called commitment to human rights helps him push his apology agenda (and statist agenda), then he'll say he cares about human rights. Frankly, America's standing in the world right now is as low as it's been --- if not lower --- than any time since President Carter was in office. Watching interviews on the news yesterday people said that because Obama's black they were excited to see him. It's not that he represents America, or that America has been at the forefront of freedom promotion since the mid-20th century, it's that the president is black. That's a sad, sad commentary on where things stand in the world. It's basically affirmative action in public diplomacy. And it's not good, for the world community nor for American foreign policy.

Tea Party 'Threat' on Hannity Live

Dana Loesch and Kirsten Powers on Hannity's last night:

BACKGROUND: "One of Four Obama Supporters Sees Tea Party as Biggest Threat to National Security."

Obama Says He Won't Bargain for Return of 'Hacker'

At the Wall Street Journal, "Ecuadorean Disarray Clouds Snowden Bid":

Disarray within the Ecuadorean government over the role of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange in Edward Snowden's asylum bid is complicating the outcome, according to diplomatic correspondence that appears to shed light on the mixed signals from Quito over the American fugitive's fate.

Mr. Assange—the antisecrecy-group founder who for the past year has been sheltered inside Ecuador's London embassy—wrote to Ecuadorean officials Monday that he hoped his role in the Snowden matter hadn't embarrassed the government, according to an internal Ecuadorean diplomatic correspondence obtained by Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Networks and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

But in the note, Mr. Assange also offered public-relations advice to top Ecuadorean officials about how to handle the crisis. Mr. Assange's earlier efforts on Mr. Snowden's behalf had prompted one diplomat to caution that Mr. Assange could be perceived as "running the show" in Ecuador.

In addition, it was an Ecuadorean diplomat who has said he is close with Mr. Assange—Fidel Narvaez, the consul at Ecuador's London embassy—who issued a controversial temporary travel document intended for Mr. Snowden, according to another of the Ecuadorean diplomatic correspondences.

WikiLeaks and Mr. Assange didn't immediately respond to requests for comment late Thursday. Representatives for Ecuador's foreign ministry declined to comment on the authenticity of the correspondences.

Several representatives at Ecuador's mission in London also declined to comment and said Mr. Narvaez was out of the office and unavailable to comment. He didn't respond to an email seeking comment.


Mr. Snowden has been charged by U.S. authorities with theft of government property and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. On Sunday, Mr. Snowden arrived in Moscow, according to WikiLeaks, after spending several weeks in Hong Kong after he admittedly leaked details of U.S. National Security Agency intelligence-gathering programs.

Russian officials have said he remains in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, and have said he should move along. The question now is where Mr. Snowden—stripped of his U.S. passport and apparently without an Ecuadorean travel document—can go.

The validity of any Ecuadorean travel document, or "safe pass," has been the subject of intense speculation this week. Mr. Assange said this week Ecuador issued such a document to Mr. Snowden and Ecuadorean officials haven't denied it exists. But officials have said that such a safe conduct pass, if it is in Mr. Snowden's possession, isn't valid.

On Tuesday, Alexis Mera, the legal adviser to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, was sent a correspondence from an address bearing Mr. Narvaez's name. "Dear Alexis," read the note, which included a copy of an Ecuadorean safe-conduct pass issued in Mr. Snowden's name, "I am responding to your request."

Another email from the same account, dated Wednesday and addressed to the legal adviser as well as to a presidential spokesman, said: "I trust you received the requested document yesterday." Mr. Narvaez was in Moscow at the time, according to the message.

But by then, Ecuadorean officials were publicly disputing that Mr. Snowden had been given such travel papers—a position voiced most strenuously by Mr. Correa on Thursday. Even if such a document existed, the president said, "the person who issued it will be totally without authority and [the document] would have no validity."

Snowden's pretty screwed over right now, obviously. It's not fun holing up in an airport, and as folks were saying on Fox News' All-Stars, especially so at Moscow's airport.

In any case, more at the link.

Record Temperatures in Southern California

It's expected to hit 129 degrees in Death Valley today, 119 in Palm Springs, and 105 in Victorville.

At KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Southland sizzles under summer heat wave":

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Summer is here and Southern California is sizzling under a heat wave with temperatures reaching 100 degrees in many areas.

In the Santa Clarita Valley, the mercury passed 90 even before noon. Temperatures were expected to reach high 80s for Los Angeles and Orange counties, high 90s for the Inland Empire and Valleys, mid 80s for the local mountains and the low 100s for the High Desert communities.

Large swaths of the Southland will remain under an excessive heat warning until Sunday night.

Residents are urged to avoid outdoor activities if possible and stay hydrated. People who were out and about said they were trying to get things done quickly and get inside to a cool place.

"It's going to be staying at home with the air conditioner and not going out as much as you can," said Tiffany Friddle of Palmdale.

There's a news video at the clip, which incidentally features Gunny Lee Ermey of "Full Metal Jacket."

And click on the station's weather page, here.