'Sex is a biological reality, and it is not subordinate to subjective impressions, no matter how intense those impressions are, how sincerely they are held, or how painful they make facing the biological facts of life. No hormone injection or surgical mutilation is sufficient to change that...'

From Kevin Williamson, at National Review, "Laverne Cox Is Not a Woman":

The trans self-conception, if the autobiographical literature is any guide, is partly a feeling that one should be living one’s life as a member of the opposite sex and partly a delusion that one is in fact a member of the opposite sex at some level of reality that transcends the biological facts in question. There are many possible therapeutic responses to that condition, but the offer to amputate healthy organs in the service of a delusional tendency is the moral equivalent of meeting a man who believes he is Jesus and inquiring as to whether his insurance plan covers crucifixion.

This seems to me a very different sort of phenomenon from simple homosexuality (though, for the record, I believe that our neat little categories of sexual orientation are yet another substitution of the conceptual for the actual, human sexual behavior being more complex and varied than the rhetoric of sexual orientation can accommodate). The question of the status of gay people interacts with politics to the extent that it in some cases challenges existing family law, but homosexual acts as such seem to me a matter that is obviously, and almost by definition, private. The mass delusion that we are inculcating on the question of transgendered people is a different sort of matter, to the extent that it would impose on society at large an obligation — possibly a legal obligation under civil-rights law, one that already is emerging — to treat delusion as fact, or at the very least to agree to make subjective impressions superordinate to biological fact in matters both public and private.

Background at Boing Boing, "Transgender tipping point: Laverne Cox on the cover of TIME."

French Riot Police Clear Calais 'Jungle' and Bulldoze Filth-Ridden Tent Camp for Muslim Illegal Aliens

At BNI, "FRENCH ELECTIONS do have consequences as riot police storm the Calais ‘jungle’ and bulldoze the filth-ridden tent camp for Muslim illegal aliens":

Wow!  That was fast.  Not even a week has passed since the European Union was turned on its head by a stunning victory for immigration control candidates in EU parliamentary elections.

Why the Troops Diss Obama

Recall from yesterday, "Watch How Vastly Different West Point Cadets React Between Hearing Presidents Obama and Bush."

In a Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation poll out last month, just 32 percent of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans approved of how well President Obama "is handling his job as president." Just 42 percent consider Obama "a good commander-in-chief of the military." In contrast, when asked if George W. Bush "was he a good commander-in-chief of the military," two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) agreed that he was.

See, "After the Wars - Post-Kaiser survey of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans."

And FWIW, see the discussion from Rajiv Chandrasekaran, "After the Wars: A Legacy of Pain and Pride." It's a beefy discussion, but one thing that sticks out is the mediocre medical care veterans say they receive from the Veterans Administration, which rings with particular resonance considering the Obama administration's VA scandal.

As for the huge gap between troop respect for President Bush versus President Obama, see former Army Lieutenant Colonel Alan West, "Blame Bush: Why Obama gets so little respect from the troops":

What civilians fail to realize is that we join the military to serve, realizing that the rigors of combat and privation are a part of that service, sacrifice, and commitment. We're not looking for someone “posing” as a leader who uses us as political pawns and gives away the hard-earned gains we've achieved. What troops want are leaders who are principled and will stand and have heartfelt sorrow when one of our brothers or sisters gives that last full measure of devotion.

What we see happening to our military under the Obama administration is unconscionable. The cutting of benefits to those serving, have served, and their families is disturbing. To have a Secretary of Defense step forward and announce we are cutting our military capability and capacity at a time when the world is far more volatile is perplexing.

To hear President Obama come out and say that we are war weary? When in the heck has he put on combat gear and humped on a patrol or spent years deployed?

Real combat troops don’t look for a fight, but when a fight comes their way, they want to win. And they expect leadership that will stand with them seeking victory, not retreat, masked as some insidious political campaign promise...

More.

I think the troops also genuinely respect a president who articulates and embodies American exceptionalism, like President Bush. (And President Obama, not so much.)

Exene Cervenka Issues Apology for Santa Barbara 'Hoax' Remarks — #UCSB

At KROQ:

thanks people for your support. i learned my lesson. no more opinions & i am shutting the fuck up, media wins. hatred is scary.

— Exene Cervenka (@exenecervenka) May 30, 2014

Days after making comments on her Twitter account referring to last weekend’s Santa Barbara shootings as a “hoax,” Exene Cervenka took to another social media channel to air her apology.

In a post on her band X‘s Facebook, the singer apologized for using the word “hoax” to describe the Elliot Rodger shootings, which left seven dead and 13 others injured.

“I want to apologize for using the word ‘hoax’ in a comment I made on social media,” she wrote. “I realize people have died in these violent events and we have all experienced that in our own lives. No one wants anyone else to ever have to go through that.” However, she didn’t exactly back down from one source in particular: the media as a whole.

“The point I am always trying to make is that we need to start thinking critically, looking past the headlines at all available information and make an informed opinion,” Cervenka continued.

“My issue is with the media’s coverage of events that will shape our public policy and laws for generations to come. We all need to be involved in that debate but we cannot contribute unless we have accurate truthful and complete information about what happened at any of these events.”

Also at the O.C. Register, "L.A. punk legends X to revisit their past."

Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'

At WSJ, "The Making of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'":

In late 1968, Led Zeppelin began pioneering a heavier, more metallic-sounding form of rock geared for FM radio's new album-oriented stereo format. By combining a slashing electric guitar and wailing vocals with a rhythmic bass and locomotive drums, the band quickly became the darlings of better stereo systems and large indoor arenas—and inspired several generations of metal-driven rockers.

When "Whole Lotta Love" was released in October 1969, it appeared first on "Led Zeppelin II," the band's second album, and then as a single weeks later—with a shorter edit for AM radio. While the single reached No. 4 on Billboard's pop chart, the album shot to No. 1 in November, and a three-month battle with the Beatles' "Abbey Road" for the top spot ensued.

With the reissue of Led Zeppelin's first three albums on Tuesday by Atlantic Records, guitarist Jimmy Page, 70, recording engineer George Chkiantz, 70, and final-mix engineer Eddie Kramer, 71, reflected on how the famed guitar riff evolved, why the voice of lead vocalist Robert Plant pre-echoes on the recording and how a 1985 lawsuit by blues artist Willie Dixon resulted in a co-songwriter credit for "Whole Lotta Love." (Mr. Plant, who opposes a reunion tour, and bassist John Paul Jones declined to be interviewed.) Edited from conversations...

More.

And at Ultimate Classic Rock, "Led Zeppelin Release New ‘Whole Lotta Love’ Video." [Seen above.]

PREVIOUSLY: "'You need coolin', baby, I'm not foolin' .... I'm gonna send ya back to schoolin'...'"

Lance Stephenson Slaps LeBron James

At SB Nation, "Lance Stephenson is at it again."

On Twitter, "Lance Stephenson loves to smack that."

And YouTube, "Lance Stephenson touches LeBron's mouth, LeBron gets angry (Game 6, ECF 2014)."

National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center

Photographs, at the Big Picture, "The National September 11 Memorial Museum."

Also, an architectural review, from Christopher Hawthorne, at the Los Angeles Times, "Architecture review: At 9/11 Memorial Museum, a relentless literalism":

Many New Yorkers, still trying to make sense of the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center, have had a single question as a museum was being built at ground zero: Too soon?

Now that the 9/11 Memorial Museum, as it's officially called, has opened to the public, they and others may find themselves asking something else: Too much?

The museum is an overstuffed answer to the appealing minimalism of the 9/11 memorial and its cascading pools, which opened in 2011.

It extends deep below the memorial in a series of cavernous, hangar-like rooms. Its galleries contain crushed fire trucks, mangled steel, multimedia displays, a torn seatbelt from one of the airplanes that hit the towers, clothing and bicycles covered with ash from their collapse, photographs, architectural models and literally thousands of other pieces of dark memorabilia.

The intensity, scope and sheer unrelenting literalism of this approach marks a significant change in how we choose to mark national trauma. No longer do we see memorials as capable of commemorating an entire war or attack on their own.

Keep reading.

Obama's Foreign Policy: A Somber Parade of Straw Men and Emptiness

From Charles Krauthammer, at WaPo, "Emptiness at West Point":

As with the West Point speech itself, as with the president’s entire foreign policy of retreat, one can only marvel at the smallness of it all.

Obama Done-In by His Own Bureaucratic Incompetence

From Gloria Borger, at CNN, "Obama defeated by his own bureaucracy":

When Barack Obama was a newbie president, there was no shortage of ambition or lack of confidence in the government he was about to lead. Government should be seen as a force for good, not evil. Sure, he told us, it needed to be "smarter and better," but that could—and would—happen under his watch.

Never mind that Bill Clinton spent years "reinventing government" with mixed success. Or that only 2% of the American public believes that government can be trusted to do the right thing all the time. President Obama was convinced he could change all that with programs that would deliver for America—such as health care reform—and the public would be grateful.

Instead, the President is living his own version of "Alice Through the Looking Glass": staring down a rabbit hole of government bureaucracy and inefficiency. The government he has studiously tried to grow, manage and change has become his own personal nemesis. All of which makes you wonder: Does the President himself trust government anymore?

More.

Also from Peter Wehner, at Commentary, "Obama Hopelessly Out of His Depth."

South African-Born Actress Charlize Theron Says Press Intrusion Just 'Like Rape'

Oh brother.

At London's Daily Mail, "Just 'Like Rape' Outrage after Oscar winner Charlize Theron compares press intrusion to RAPE during interview to promote her new film days after Gwyneth compared online abuse to war."

YouTube video, "Charlize Theron: Press Intrusion 'Like Rape'."

Speaking of whom, "Gwyneth sparks ridicule by claiming online criticism is like real-life warfare."

Jessica Simpson Friday #Rule5 Roundup

Ms. Simpson's been out of the Rule 5 action for awhile, what, with all the baby-making and so forth

But now at London's Daily Mail, "Ready for her Daisy Dukes! Svelte Jessica Simpson shows off her super toned legs out on date night with fiance Eric Johnson."

More at Daley Gator, "DALEYGATOR DALEYBABE KATYA SANCHEZ."

Odie has, "Blondishnessnesser ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Nikki Leigh."

At Classy Bro, "Beautiful Girls in Tight Dresses… Need We Say More?"

The Hostages, "Big Boog Friday."

More at the Last Tradition, "Rule 5 Sunday – Coco Austin actress, model, Pin Up of the 2000s."

And from Proof Positive, "Friday Night Babe Tonight's FNB* is Jennifer Lawrence!"

At Pirate's Cove, "If All You See……is a wonderful carbon friendly bike which Everyone Else should be forced to ride, you might just be a Warmist."

 In a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has the "Friday Pinup."

Also at Reaganite, "'Miss São Tomé and Príncipe 2013' is  Djeissica Barbosa Hamilton Ivna Farinha Cassandra."

At Knuckledraggin', "Kissing Breasts on a Motorboat."

And Dana Pico, "Rule 5 Blogging: the Big Red One!"

Here's some hotness for Egotastic!, "Thank God It’s Funbags! Yara Khmidan Pool Shoot Is Wet and Hot and Just Udderly Amazing."

At 90 Miles From Tyranny, "Morning Mistress - Nordic Goddess."

Still more from Wine, Women and Politics, "Sunday Baby Dolls."

And at Coed, "Get excited, it’s Hump Day! (37 Photos)," and "THE 30 HOTTEST WAGS TO WATCH AT THE WORLD CUP 2014 [PHOTOS]."

At Doubletroubletwo, "Sexy Reds."

BONUS: At Soylent, "Yeah...I'll See This Movie."

Undocumented Families in Milwaukee: Illegal Immigration 'Not a Crime'

My college is roughly 50 percent Hispanic, and when students write their semester news analysis notebooks, the view that illegal immigration is just "immigration" is almost uniform among that demographic. Virtually all of my Latino students have a close relative or a friend who is illegal. It's obviously a touchy subject.

No one wants family members deported. The solution is to secure the border to prevent illegals from coming here in the first place. After that we'll no doubt see a push for "comprehensive immigration reform," which is of course amnesty. The whole deal's a national charade where the "immigrant" groups pretend to be law-abiding future Americans and the U.S. government pretends to secure our national sovereignty from foreign invaders.

Clearly, the Orwellianism of it all has won the day. The "immigrant" family pictured at the New York Times shows a woman with the shirt blaring, "Immigration: Not a Crime." The law [on ILLEGAL immigration] says otherwise, sadly for her. Live a lie long enough and you get burned by your own deceit.

See, "Sweep Coincides With Delay on Deportation Policy Changes."

Sierra Swartz, 18-Year-Old Santa Barbara City College Student, Survived Elliot Rodger Murder Rampage

The story's at KEYT, "18-Year-Old City College Student Encountered Elliot Rodger Friday."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Resigns

Well, the Shinseki firing's a big deal, but Carney out too!

Clearing of the crapweasels!

At the Hill, "Carney out as WH spokesman," and at Fox News, "Carney to step down as White House press secretary."

Carney & Shinseki gone in one fell swoop. Out: Friday D.C. document dump. In: Friday D.C. crapweasel dump.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) May 30, 2014

When the Left Turned Against Free Speech — #LiberalFascism

From Matt Welch, at Reason, "The long, ugly journey from the Free Speech Movement to professors assaulting protesters":

On March 4, in a designated "free-speech zone" at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), associate professor of feminist studies Mireille Miller-Young walked over to a 16-year-old anti-abortion protester named Thrin Short and demanded that Short take down a graphic sign showing pictures of aborted fetuses. When Short refused, Miller-Young forcibly snatched the sign out of the smaller girl's hands, then handed it to her students and walked away triumphantly. The rattled teen accurately accused Miller-Young of being a "thief," to which the professor implausibly retorted: "I may be a thief, but you're a terrorist!" Adding injury to insult, Miller-Young then shoved the protester and barred her from entering a campus elevator. Moments later, the professor and her students cut the stolen poster to shreds.

The story gets worse. According to the ensuing police report, Miller-Young maintained that she had set a good example for her students by acting like a "conscientious objector" to offensive hate speech that had "triggered" her emotions and violated her "personal right to go to work and not be in harm." Many students, too, remained defiant about the assault long after tempers cooled.

"We, as students of UCSB, are in solidarity with Professor Miller-Young and urge our student body, staff, faculty, and community members to provide as much support as possible," reads a petition submitted by "UCSB Microaggressions" that as of press time had received more than 2,000 signatures, dwarfing a rival petition asking for the professor's ouster. "We do not condone the hate speech and media attention she has been actively receiving."

Our tale gets worse still. In an open letter to students on March 19, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael D. Young did not mention Miller-Young by name, did not address either the outrageousness of her actions or the inanity of her logic, and instead aimed most of his fire at "outsiders coming into our midst to provoke us, to taunt us and attempt to turn us against one another as they promote personal causes and agendas."...

Keep reading.

Matt Welch attended UCSB in the 1980s. You learn something new every day!

RELATED: At National Review, "UCSB Smears Pro-Lifers After Professor’s Attack on Pro-Life Student."

Common Core School Standards Face a New Wave of Opposition

A surprisingly good piece at the New York Times.

And at Twitchy, "Gov. Bobby Jindal pulls support of Common Core at #RLC2014."

More at CNN, "Jindal blasts Common Core at GOP conference."

Plus, Robert Stacy McCain is on the ground in New Orleans, "#RLC2014 N’Awlins, Y’all."

PREVIOUSLY: "The Anti-Common Core 'Barbarians at the Gate'."

‘Truth About CAIR’ Posters Vandalized in New York Subway Stations

The truth hurts, obviously.

At Pamela's:

The leading Muslim Brotherhood-tied organization in America, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has deceived the media, cultural, and political elites in America for years, to the great peril of the American people.

But we’re fighting back. My organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), has placed “Truth About CAIR” posters on New York City subway platforms this week, including Times Square, City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, Third Avenue, 44th Street, and 10 other stations.

Also, "Hamas-CAIR Thugs at Work: AFDI “Truth About CAIR” Ads Defaced with Anti-Semitic Vandalism":

Our “Truth About CAIR” ads were not up a full day when the Islamic supremacists, thugs, and Jew-haters were out in full destruction mode.

Truth to sharia adherents is like the silver cross to Dracula. Brutal.  But I printed up a stack of these posters, knowing how the destroyers operate. This ad is being replaced today, as will any other ad that is destroyed by these philistines.

I made an even bigger “Truth About CAIR” buy in other US cities. So Hamas-CAIR  better rent a bus. Road trip!

More here, "“Truth About CAIR” Awareness Ad Campaign Hits Washington DC Metro."

RELATED: From Robert Spencer, at Town Hall, "A Closer Look at CAIR."

Also, from Joe Kaufman, at FrontPage Magazine, "CAIR’s Hamas Co-Conspirator Associates," and "'Unindicted' Doesn't Mean 'Not Guilty'."

And at Michelle Malkin's, "Outrage: CAIR's war on Robert Spencer, Young America's Foundation."

Elliot Rodger Smiled Before Shooting, Says #UCSB Survivor Bianca de Kock

Lucky to be alive.

At ABC News, "EXCLUSIVE: Santa Barbara Killer Smiled Before Shooting, Survivor Says."

The YouTube clip is here, "Santa Barbara Survivor: 'He Smiles at Me and Just Starts Shooting'."

More at ABC, "Elliot Rodger's Ex-Roommate Reveals What It Was Like to Live With the Troubled Man."

Britain Prepares for War in 1940

At London's Daily Mail, "Those were the days: From England’s pubs to Sheffield’s steel industry and preparations for war - film archive reveals how life was in 1930s and 40s Britain."

China Hacking Deep, Diverse

At the Wall Street Journal, "Internet Spies Stretch Beyond Government, Offering Beijing Cover, Experts Say":

China's Internet espionage capabilities are deeper and more widely dispersed than the U.S. indictment of five army officers last week suggests, former top government officials say, extending to a sprawling hacking-industrial complex that shields the Chinese government but also sometimes backfires on Beijing.

Some of the most sophisticated intruders observed by U.S. officials and private-sector security firms work as hackers for hire and at makeshift defense contractors, not the government, and aren't among those named in the indictment. In recent years, engineers from this crowd have broken into servers at Google Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and top cybersecurity companies, former U.S. officials and security researchers alleged.

The Chinese have often told their U.S. counterparts they don't condone hacking but also that they can't police what they don't control, according to former U.S. officials. While it is possible Beijing makes this claim simply as an excuse for inaction—given its strict control of domestic Internet traffic—experts in the field, including former U.S. officials, say the Chinese hacking landscape is chaotic and hard to follow.

This structure brings "a political gain to being able to say 'we can't control all attacks,' " said Adam Segal, a China and cybersecurity scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "But I think there is a cost when hackers go after targets that are too sensitive or get involved in a crisis and the government can't control the signaling."

Sometimes freelancers appear to take orders from the military, at other times from state-owned firms seeking a competitive advantage, U.S. security firms say.  This diffusion of China's hacking activities underscores the challenge the U.S. faces in addressing what Washington considers economic espionage.

"Part of the consternation when we were pushing them was there is not complete knowledge of what's going on," said a former U.S. official, recalling cyber negotiations with China.

More.