Texas Teacher Cristy Nicole Deweese Outed as Playboy 'Coed of the Month'

Well, it was awhile back. No worries, right?

Actually not.

At London's Daily Mail, "Parents' outrage after high school Spanish teacher, 21, revealed as Playboy model."

Government Shutdown Gives Skateboarders New Life in Washington

This reminds me of the infamous "Skateboarding is not a crime" stickers back in the 1980s, when cities passed all kinds of laws prohibiting skating in public.

At WSJ:

Skateboarders score in shutdown; With D.C. plazas empty, the banned sport is suddenly on http://t.co/HAJ73E0KHb
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 7, 2013

Mika Brzezinski: Ted Cruz Doesn't Love This Country

At Legal Insurrection, "Mika Brzezinski No. 1 on list of MSM losing it over gov’t scale-back."

And at Free Beacon, "Mika: Ted Cruz, Like-Minded Republicans Don’t Love America."

Senator Ted Cruz on 'The Kelly File'

At Fox News, "Megyn Kelly Asks Ted Cruz: What's It Like to Be the Most Hated Man in America?"

#PresidentStompyFoot

A total riot.

At Twitchy, "#PresidentStompyFoot: Obama’s shutdown snit fits inspire another ‘nails it’ hashtag."

Ah! A very accurate hashtag describing the shallow, narcissistic, petty, petulant child @BarackObama #PresidentStompyFoot

— prophet of doom (@QuisUtDeus7) October 5, 2013

A Tale of Two Mannings: 0-5 and 5-0

At USA Today, "Giants say Eli Manning is trying too hard to save team's season":

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning has long been a fourth-quarter fortress of calm and clutch playmaking.

But not Sunday, not during a season that kept crumbling with Manning's three interceptions on consecutive drives against the type of pressure the two-time Super Bowl MVP has typically ignored in big games.

The quarterback nicknamed "Easy" has been pressing too hard to lift his wounded team, coach Tom Coughlin conceded after a crushing, 36-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that buried the Giants' season.

For a while Sunday, Manning was the reason the Giants showed signs of life. He threw a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to receiver Rueben Randle. The second putting the Giants up 21-19 late in the quarter.

But then Manning and his team came unraveled. With the Giants winning two Super Bowl championships among the past six, neither players nor fans are used to failure on this scale: The Giants are 0-5 for the first time in a non-strike season since 1979.

Manning became the first quarterback since Daunte Culpepper in 2005 to throw 12 picks in first five games.

Also, "Tom Coughlin: Blame me, not Eli Manning, for 0-5 start."

And here's the other Manning. Boy, what a game, "Peyton, Broncos outduel Cowboys thanks to Romo INT."

Obama Loves Him Some Terrorist Rendition

Well, it's not "extraordinary rendition," but it's still rendition, and Uncle Barry campaigned against it.

But he's embraced it now, the hypocritical asshole.

At WaPo, "Al-Qaeda suspect’s capture represents rare ‘rendition’ by U.S. military":

The capture of an alleged al-Qaeda operative outside his home by Special Operations forces in Tripoli on Saturday and his secret removal from Libya was a rare instance of U.S. military involvement in “rendition,” the practice of grabbing terrorism suspects to face trial without an extradition proceeding and long the province of the CIA or the FBI.

U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, who was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, as an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to strengthen its franchise in North Africa.

Keep reading.

And at WSJ, "Americans at War in Africa":

Al-Libi ought to be an intelligence gold mine if the Obama Administration is willing to extract it. U.S. officials are saying he is likely to be tried eventually in U.S. criminal court. But for now he is probably on a U.S. Navy vessel, where he can be interrogated safe from American civilian due process.

Al-Libi ought to be brought to Guantanamo as an illegal enemy combatant and tried by military commission. But it apparently offends the Obama Administration's political sensibilities less to keep captured killers on board a ship for weeks instead. That's also how the Administration dealt with Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali member of al Qaeda who was captured in April 2011 and kept incommunicado at sea for some two months. Secret prison, anyone?

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

Yeah, well, let's hope not. We've still got idiot Eric Holder pulling a lot of strings in the Oval Office, the goddamned traitor.

Sen. Tom Coburn: U.S. Won't Default on Debt Ceiling Impasse

At Memeorandum, "Tom Coburn: No default if ceiling stays."



Also at WaPo, "Rand Paul: It’s ‘irresponsible’ of Obama to talk about default."

Shutdown Stalemate Week Two

At WSJ, "Boehner Ties Deal to Talks on Debt: Speaker Won't Propose End to Standoff Unless Democrats Agree to Broader Deficit Negotiations":

WASHINGTON—The government shutdown enters its second week with the two parties still bitterly divided and Republicans increasingly tying the fight to a fast-approaching deadline to avoid a default on U.S. debt.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Sunday he wouldn't bring up bills to fully reopen the government or increase the country's borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to broader talks aimed at trimming the deficit. The speaker insisted he couldn't muster enough votes to pass either one without the concessions.

"The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us," Mr. Boehner told ABC in his first interview since the shutdown began. "I'm not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up."

The fight to this point has centered on Republican demands to delay or dismantle parts of the 2010 health-care law in exchange for funding the government. Now, by pairing the standoffs over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, the speaker is trying to force President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to agree to GOP priorities on deficits and federal spending in return for movement on both. The two Democrats have repeatedly rejected GOP attempts to use the mid-October deadline to increase the debt limit as a bargaining chip.

White House officials responded to Mr. Boehner's comments in a series of Twitter messages. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Republicans "don't have to give up anything. Just pay nation's bills on time, no strings attached." Mr. Reid challenged Mr. Boehner's view that he lacks the votes to pass a government-funding bill without Republican priorities.

"I think he does," Mr. Reid said via Twitter. "Let the House vote, and we'll find out."

Mr. Boehner faces two challenges from inside his party. Centrist Republicans, eager to fully reopen the government and avoid a default, have already reached across the aisle to explore possible solutions, while conservatives are threatening to turn their back on the speaker if a broader deficit-reduction deal doesn't include changes or delays to the new health-care law.

The tough talk from Mr. Boehner is as much about preserving his leverage with Democrats as it is about keeping Republicans unified. A group of House Republicans—members say there are 15 or more—have expressed frustration with the shutdown and urged party leaders to put the episode behind them. But the bloc has bypassed opportunities to vote against Mr. Boehner, raising questions about whether it would break with party leaders.

Continue reading.

Astonishing Visual Record of the Ku Klux Klan

Bizarre.

At London's Daily Mail, "Under the hood: Astonishing glimpse into secretive rituals and mundane home life of Ku Klux Klan members in the 21st Century."

Annie Lennox Slams 'Overtly Sexualized' Women's Pop 'Pornography'

From Annie Lennox, on Facebook:

I have to say that I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment. As if the tidal wave of sexualised imagery wasn't already bombarding impressionable young girls enough..I believe in freedom of speech and expression, but the market forces don't give a toss about the notion of boundaries. As long as there's booty to make money out of, it will be bought and sold. It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low.Their assumption seems to be that misogyny- utilised and displayed through oneself is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and U tube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetized form of self harm.

She's especially talking about Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, apparently.

More at London's Daily Mail, "Annie Lennox takes aim at Miley Cyrus and Rihanna as she launches attack over 'pornographic' music videos."

As I was saying earlier, I watched Miley on SNL last night and thought it wasn't too bad. However, I've never watched the "Wrecking Ball" video until just now, which is pretty much all gratuitous nudity.

Meh. I'd much prefer to see Katy Perry nude on a wrecking ball like that, lol.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

Cartoon Credit: Nate Beeler.

Judge Jeanine Pirro Worried About America's Social Breakdown and Lawlessness

Yet again a must-watch segment from Judge Jeanine.

She concludes: "Now I'm a tough New Yorker, but even I'm worried. And if I'm worried, you should be worried."

Miley Cyrus on #SNL

I watched it.

She was pretty good.

And like I always say, she and her handlers are marketing geniuses. It's working out for her way past the obligatory 15 minutes.

At LAT, "Miley Cyrus can't stop on 'SNL'."

And at Twitchy, "SNL viewers agree: Miley Cyrus should keep the hot Michele Bachmann look."

The Boehner/Bachmann spoof is here, "SNL Miley Cyrus Parody - "We Did Stop (The Government)" ft. John Boehner and Michele Bachmann."

#SpiteHouse

OMG this is delectable!

At Twitchy, "#SpiteHouse: President Stompy Foot sparks new name for White House [Photoshops]."

'Welcome to Ted Cruz's Thunderdome'

Ben Shapiro takes down MoDo, at Big Journalism.

And here's the senator on CNN this morning:



More here, "Cruz: Obamacare is hurting millions."

Speaker John Boehner on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos'

At ABC News, "‘This Week’ Transcript: House Speaker John Boehner." (Via Memeorandum.)



Also from the Speaker's Office, "Boehner on ABC This Week: Democrats’ Refusal to Negotiate Putting Our Country At Risk."

Pasadena's Cliff's Bookstore Closes: Was One of the Many That Once Lined East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena

These are changing times.

I'm always a little surprised to see independent book sellers these days. I'd never been to Cliff's, although I've made trips to Vroman's Books right there on Colorado Blvd.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Pasadena's Cliff's Books closes up shop":

Bookstores thrived in the Playhouse district in the late 1990s. Vroman's, Super Crown, Borders, Barnes & Noble and four used book stores all made their home along a few blocks of Colorado. Today, only Vroman's, Barnes & Noble and one used book store remain.

Not only is it a tough market for booksellers, the Playhouse district has gentrified in the last decade, making it harder for quirky stores like Cliff's to compete with increasing numbers of big box stores. "Mom and pop stores are going out; you got franchise businesses coming in," said Don Cotten, manager at Angels School Supply, just a couple of doors down from Cliff's.

To Fix Education, Look to the Past

From Joanne Lipman, at WSJ, "Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results":

I had a teacher once who called his students "idiots" when they screwed up. He was our orchestra conductor, a fierce Ukrainian immigrant named Jerry Kupchynsky, and when someone played out of tune, he would stop the entire group to yell, "Who eez deaf in first violins!?" He made us rehearse until our fingers almost bled. He corrected our wayward hands and arms by poking at us with a pencil.

Today, he'd be fired. But when he died a few years ago, he was celebrated: Forty years' worth of former students and colleagues flew back to my New Jersey hometown from every corner of the country, old instruments in tow, to play a concert in his memory. I was among them, toting my long-neglected viola. When the curtain rose on our concert that day, we had formed a symphony orchestra the size of the New York Philharmonic.

I was stunned by the outpouring for the gruff old teacher we knew as Mr. K. But I was equally struck by the success of his former students. Some were musicians, but most had distinguished themselves in other fields, like law, academia and medicine. Research tells us that there is a positive correlation between music education and academic achievement. But that alone didn't explain the belated surge of gratitude for a teacher who basically tortured us through adolescence.

We're in the midst of a national wave of self-recrimination over the U.S. education system. Every day there is hand-wringing over our students falling behind the rest of the world. Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. trail students in 12 other nations in science and 17 in math, bested by their counterparts not just in Asia but in Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands, too. An entire industry of books and consultants has grown up that capitalizes on our collective fear that American education is inadequate and asks what American educators are doing wrong.

I would ask a different question. What did Mr. K do right? What can we learn from a teacher whose methods fly in the face of everything we think we know about education today, but who was undeniably effective?

Continue reading.

I was born too late.

And sadly, I won't be able to retire too soon. I'm cracking up at some of my colleagues at work who are just now noticing how horribly they've been affected by ever-encroaching leftism and political correctness.

Diana West: "The Rebuttal: Defending 'American Betrayal' from the Book-Burners"

Diana's publishing her response to the attacks from the David Horowtiz/Ronald Radosh cabal, and I'm happy to announce that she's been gracious enough to include one of my essays in her compilation.

At Diana's blog, "FLASH: Now Available! The Rebuttal: Defending American Betrayal from the Book-Burners."

Click to RTWT at the link, although here's the list of patriots she's included:

I have published both my rebuttal, which originally appeared in three parts at Breitbart News, and a selection of these essays written in my behalf in a new book, The Rebuttal: Defending American Betrayal from the Book-Burners. Authors include Andrew Bostom, Vladimir Bukovsky, Donald Douglas, Edward Cline, M. Stanton Evans, Ruth King, Clare M. Lopez, Ned May, R.S. McCain, Takuan Seiyo, Cindy Simpson, David Solway, John L. Work and more.

And check Amazon, "The Rebuttal: Defending 'American Betrayal' from the Book-Burners."

(In Kindle here.)

And ICYMI, see the astonishing essay right now, "BUKOVSKY & STROILOV ON AMERICAN BETRAYAL."