Donald Trump Taking Heat from Both Left and Right (VIDEO)

Watch Charles Krauthammer and Megyn Kelly, at Fox News, "Krauthammer on why Trump is taking heat from both sides."

RELATED: At the Hill, via Memeorandum, "Trump drops out of Heritage event after birther backlash."

45 Photos of Bikini Babes

At Radass, "Happy FIll My Cup Thursday (45 Photos)."

Police Take Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr., Into Custody: Suspect in Series of Shootings on Interstate 10 (VIDEO)

Watch, at ABC News 10 Phoenix, "Police arrest suspect in string of Phoenix freeway shootings."

And at the Arizona Republic, "Phoenix freeway shootings suspect identified as Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr."

Jackie Johnson's Beautiful Weekend Forecast

I love this weather. A little hotter, and thank Heaven for it.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Fight Breaks Out as Japan's Parliament Approves Overseas Combat Role for Military (VIDEO)

At the New York Times, "Japan Approves Overseas Combat Role for Military":

TOKYO — In a middle-of-the night vote that capped a tumultuous struggle with opposition parties in Parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan secured final passage of legislation on Saturday authorizing overseas combat missions for his country’s military, overturning a decades-old policy of reserving the use of force for self-defense.

The legislation had been expected to pass; Mr. Abe’s governing coalition controls a formidable majority in the legislature. But analysts said the grinding political battle and days of demonstrations that accompanied the effort could hurt his standing with a public already skeptical of his hawkish vision for Japan’s national security.

The debate often doubled as a forum for airing views about Japan’s most important ally, the United States. Many were hostile.

“If this legislation passes, we will absolutely be caught up in illegal American wars,” Taro Yamamoto, a leader of a small left-leaning opposition party, said in a committee debate on Thursday. The debate ended with lawmakers piled on top of one another in a melee for control of the chairman’s microphone.

On Friday, Mr. Yamamoto held up the voting by taking a slow-motion “cow walk” to the podium to cast his ballot. Other opposition groups entered symbolic censure motions against Mr. Abe and officials in his Liberal Democratic Party or made long, filibuster-like speeches, often repeating the conviction that a military with expanded powers would end up being dragged into an unjustified American war.

“We must not become accomplices to murder,” said Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party. Similar sentiments have been echoed — usually in less provocative terms — by newspaper columnists, political scientists and members of the general public.

The opposition’s obstructionist tactics delayed Mr. Abe’s victory until after 2 a.m., but could not prevent it.

." Mr. Abe’s critics have a variety of grievances against the defense legislation. Not least is the question of its constitutionality: In multiple surveys of constitutional specialists, more than 90 percent have said they believe that it violates Japan’s basic law, laid down by the United States in the postwar occupation, which renounces the use of force to resolve international disputes.

But a less abstract fear of being “caught up in war” has been just as important in fueling opposition to the legislation, exposing a strain of public unease about the United States-Japan alliance that is usually kept out of view...

The war ended 70 years ago. I think Japan can change its constitution and join the status of normal countries who defend their own national security.

Still more.

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. and Japan Tighten Alliance in Face of Surging Threat from China."

Jessica Simpson Drunk on Home Shopping Network? (VIDEO)

I didn't know she was a lush.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Jessica Simpson's slurred speech on HSN sparks Twitter accusations of drunkenness."

And watch, at Entertainment Tonight, "Was Jessica Simpson Drunk During Her Live HSN Appearance?"

Sponsors Drop 'The View' After Disrespectful Nurse Jokes

Countdown to cancellation.

At Instapundit, "WHEN CATTY PUTDOWNS BACKFIRE: Two sponsors drop ‘The View’ after nurse jokes."

And from Michelle Malkin, "Why 'The View' Is Bombing":

You would think that a groundbreaking TV show for women hosted by women would do its best every day to respect and uplift women.

Instead, ABC’s “The View” — originally created by veteran journalist Barbara Walters to represent women “of different backgrounds, different generations and different opinions” — has devolved into an ear-splitting bickerfest of elite divas who scoff and sneer at those who do not enjoy their celebrity privilege or share their left-wing ideological values.

This week, the bratty, catty co-hosts’ targets included the young women who competed for the Miss America title. Michelle Collins, a “comedian” who recently joined the show after establishing herself as a Tinseltown “gossip queen,” savaged Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson. As the other anchors giggled out loud at Johnson’s video clip, Collins mocked the Rocky Mountain beauty not for her looks or her politics, but for a lovely, earnest monologue she performed during the pageant’s talent competition.

Wearing her hospital scrubs, sneakers and a stethoscope, the registered nurse recounted her conversations with a patient named Joe in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. When he requested changes in medications and treatments, Johnson explained to him that she couldn’t because she was “just a nurse.”

What she could do was provide kindness and comfort. One night, after discovering him in tears as the condition wore his spirits down, Collins told him he was “not just Alzheimer’s. You are still Joe.”

Joe responded gratefully: “Nurse Kelley … you are not ‘just a nurse.’ You are my nurse, and you have changed my life because you’ve cared about me.” With her voice cracking, Johnson shared her takeaway: “Patients are people with families and friends. You are not a room number or diagnosis in the hospital. You’re a person. … And Joe reminded me that I am a lifesaver. I am never going to be ‘just a nurse.'”

Using her two minutes on a national stage to give voice to her underappreciated colleagues, Kelley made the three million nurses in her profession and their families justifiably proud. And she prompted viewers like me to reflect on our gratitude for the countless nurses in our lives who’ve benefited from their talent, dedication and compassion...

But not the disgusted, mean-spirited moral reprobates on "The View."

 But keep reading.

Russia Moves First Fighter Jets to Syria (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Russia Moves Its First Tactical Fighter Jets to Base in Syria":

Russia has moved jet fighters to a base in Syria for the first time, U.S. defense officials said Friday, a major military escalation that heightens fears Moscow is set to play a more direct role in propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The deployment of a small number of tactical jets came just hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke to his Russian counterpart about Moscow’s deepening role in Syria, a call that ended a long pause in high-level military communication between the U.S. and Russia.

U.S. defense officials said the nearly hourlong conversation was designed in part to help avert a confrontation in Syria between the U.S. and Russia, which have long been on opposite sides of the 4½-year-old civil war.

Russia’s decision to send in jets, however, is the clearest indication Moscow is preparing to use military might to help Mr. Assad as he clings to power.

U.S. policy in Syria, which has for years sought to avoid getting drawn into the protracted and bloody conflict, is at a turning point, prompted by the flood of refugees into Europe and the surprising Russian escalation.

In addition, the Obama administration is considering whether to scrap its troubled plan to arm moderate Syrians to battle the extremists of Islamic State, which controls much of Syria.

The direct involvement of Russian forces in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Mr. Assad would mark a new twist that could put American pilots, who regularly fly surveillance flights and airstrike missions, in substantially greater danger...

Keep reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Syrian Refugees Lose Faith in Finding Solution to Country's Civil War."

Top Dollar Trade-In for Your Phone

At Amazon, Trade-in: Get Top Dollar for Your Phone.

Plus, check out Mark Steyn's edited collection, "A Disgrace to the Profession" The World's Scientists - in their own words - on Michael E Mann, his Hockey Stick and their Damage to Science.

Syrian Refugees Lose Faith in Finding Solution to Country's Civil War

At Der Spiegel, "Abandoning Syria: Few Options Left for Stopping the War":

An exodus of tens of thousands is hemorrhaging out of Syria and into Europe. After four years of civil war horrors, people have given up completely on their country. Is there a shred of hope left for stopping the conflict and rebuilding?

Both men were Syrians -- a taxi driver and his passenger. They met during an hour-long drive in April from the airport in the southern Turkish city of Adana toward the east. Within a few minutes, they realized that they were from the same place, the northern port city of Latakia, which is controlled by the Syrian regime.

Things got tricky when the two men began to wonder whose side the other had been on.
They avoided direct questions for a while. Before, on the other side of the border, they may have shot at each other. But now they were sitting in the same car. Eventually, the driver began to tell his story. He had been a bank manager and had told jokes about Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. After an informer betrayed him to the government, a man from Syrian intelligence gave him a warning, saying: "Get out now. They're coming to get you in half an hour."

Then the second man told his story. He had been an architecture student. "I had nothing against Assad," he said. But checkpoints had been erected everywhere in recent weeks, where young men were forcibly recruited into the army. "I didn't want to die," he explained. The driver chuckled briefly, and then the two men went silent for a while.

"It's over," the driver finally said. "Yes," his passenger replied. They spent the rest of the trip discussing the best routes to Europe.

Can the Horrors Be Stopped?

A country is hemorrhaging people. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are on the road, traveling to Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, or they have already arrived, and millions will follow suit. The exodus is putting a long-ignored question back onto the political agenda in the West: What can be done to stop the horrors in Syria?

Four years after the beginning of the uprising, a quarter of a million are dead and the political proposals by the United Nations, the German foreign minister, the United States government and others sound very much like proposals in 2011: Negotiate, apply pressure and seek a political solution. The situation is complicated by announcements from France and Great Britain of their intention to participate in air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. But what they overlook is that the overwhelming majority of Syrians are not fleeing from IS, but from Assad's barrel bombs, the Syrian Air Force and the generally hopeless situation.

IS primarily controls sparsely populated desert areas in eastern Syria. According to reports by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Assad's soldiers killed about 11,500 people between January and August, while IS killed 1,800. Among civilians, at least 10 times as many people die as a result of the regime's attacks than at the hands of IS.

IS has made adjustments to cope with the air strikes. Its troops now tend to operate in towns, in which they prevent the residents from fleeing by erecting checkpoints and imposing draconian punishments. This prevents Western forces from effectively attacking IS.

The Assad Question

The refugees are responsible for growing political pressure to find ways out of the war, but their plight does nothing to change the status quo, which has led to the failure of every negotiated solution to date. Russia and Iran want to keep Assad in power, and the West is unwilling to overthrow him and oppose the Russian veto in the UN Security Council or jeopardize Iran's compliance with the nuclear treaty. Two UN special envoys have already failed to resolve this conflict situation, and a third one is heading in the same direction. Staffan de Mistura has announced new negotiations for October and wants to introduce decentralized task forces, but he has not even mentioned the central issue: Should the goal be to remove Assad or to allow him to remain in power?

The world had already made more headway in earlier negotiations. When influential Syrians from both camps met for secret negotiations at Château de Bossey on Lake Geneva in October 2013, everyone, after initial difficulties, was surprisingly in agreement. Even an advisor to Assad was acquiescent and was not opposed to a peaceful solution. "We will fight down to the last building in Damascus. But what happens after that? The country is ruined. No side can win or stop fighting."

The meetings were hosted by Switzerland's Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. As one participant recalls, both sides were exhausted and prepared to make extensive compromises. In the end, the negotiations failed because of one person: Assad. Everything was negotiable, but he had to go, the representatives of the opposition demanded. The participants agreed that a solution was in the hands of the Americans and the Russians.

If there is any solution for Syria anymore, it would have to be similar to the tentative plans suggested in 2013, which called for exiling Assad, his clan, key generals and their families. Those also included extensive amnesties for combatants on both sides, power to be handed over to local authorities -- and a common fight against IS. But this type of solution would have required military pressure on Assad, which Washington was never willing to agree to. Even a proposal to install no-fly zones in several Syrian border regions, so that people there could survive without air strikes, was repeatedly rejected...

Still more.

Suspect Dead After Deputies Open Fire from Helicopter During Pursuit on I-215 in Devore

Man, this is rad!

At the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "DEVORE: Deputy shoots man to death during wrong-way I-215 pursuit (UPDATE)."

And at ABC News 7 Los Angeles, "CAR CHASE CRASH SHUTS DOWN NORTHBOUND 215 FREEWAY."

Dana Loesch: 'Because holding up arms and legs for sale to the camera wasn’t enough...'

Heh.

At Twitchy, "This Dana Loesch tweet says ALL about ghastly media reax to Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood truths."

Media is circling the wagons on Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood remark. Because holding up arms and legs for sale to the camera wasn’t enough.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 17, 2015

PREVIOUSLY: "Death-Cult Leftists Spew Lies Attacking Carly Fiorina After Wednesday's GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)."

'It's totally fake outrage from frauds who want to continue the dump of third-worlders on the country, including Muslim Jihadists, and voted for the guy who just gave a nuke to Iran...'

Heh.

That's Ann Coulter's quote, at the Hollywood Reporter, "Ann Coulter Calls Fury Over Jewish-Debate Tweet 'Fake Outrage': 'I'm Pro-Israel'."

And watch, via NYDN, "Ann Coulter Sparks Outrage Over ‘anti-Semitic’ Tweet, Rant About ‘Jews’ During GOP Debate." Also at Memeorandum.

And here's her book, Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.

Death-Cult Leftists Spew Lies Attacking Carly Fiorina After Wednesday's GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)

They're diabolical death-cult leftists, spewing despicable lies attacking Carly Fiorina for her comments --- her 100 percent accurate comments --- criticizing the Democrats on abortion during Wednesday's debate.

Here's the clip of Fiorina's comments, "Fiorina: Shame on us if we don't force Obama to veto Planned Parenthood."

Okay, now, you can see a 19-week-old baby placed in a metal surgical bowl after a botched abortion, kicking his legs, clearly still alive, kept there while technicians prepare to cut his face off to extract his brain. Watch, at 5:56 minutes, "Human Capital - Episode 3: Planned Parenthood's Custom Abortions for Superior Product." (Also at the Fresno Bee, "Anti-abortion video claims wrongdoing at Fresno, Stockton clinics.")

That's the left for you, the lying diabolical left.

At the Federalist, "Who’s Really Lying About the Planned Parenthood Videos? Carly Fiorina or the Factcheckers?"

And some of the links to the left's hateful, diabolical liars:

* At RH Reality Check, "Debunking Five Absurd Comments About Planned Parenthood From the GOP Debate."

* From the disgusting feminist slut Amanda Marcotte, "What Was Up With Carly Fiorina’s Grisly Abortion Rant?"

* From Caitlin MacNeal, at Josh Marshall far-left stink hole TPM, "Fiorina Stands by Her Bogus Debate Description of Planned Parenthood Vids."

* And from the congenitally stupid Sarah Kliff, at that other far-left stink hole, Ezra Klein's Vox, "Carly Fiorina is wrong about the Planned Parenthood tapes. I know because I watched them."

Now, see Mollie Hemingway, "The aborted baby the media claim does not exist."

And she writes:

The media have consistently failed to cover the Planned Parenthood footage, and now they are covering up the truth. The reality is that babies of the same gestational age are having their organs harvested every day. These videos feature graphic footage of abortionists mangling babies to harvest organs to sell. They feature abortionists admitting that babies often survive those abortions. They show high-level Planned Parenthood officials encouraging this organ-harvesting scheme, acknowledged that it is happening, and attempting to skirt scrutiny from it.

The videos Carly Fiorina referenced do indeed exist, and they reveal the barbaric realities of the abortion industry.

 Lots more at Memeorandum.

Carly Fiorina Jumps Out to First-Place, Tied with Donald Trump, in Post-GOP Debate Poll

This is not unexpected, at all.

From Nice Deb, at Pajamas, "Post-Debate Poll: Fiorina Surges to First Place, Tied With Trump":

A post-debate poll conducted by Gravis Marketing for One America News Network (OAN) shows Carly Fiorina jumping to first place at 22%, tied with Donald Trump. In their previous poll, Fiorina ranked 7th with 2.7% of the vote.

The poll, taken immediately after Wednesday night’s GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Library, has Marco Rubio rising to third place with 15 percent...

Keep reading, via Instapundit, who writes, "It’s a real (robo-)poll, not an online poll."

PREVIOUSLY: "Carly Fiorina Should Expect Greater Scrutiny After Powerful Debate Performance (VIDEO)."

Carly Fiorina Should Expect Greater Scrutiny After Powerful Debate Performance (VIDEO)

At the Los Angeles Times, "Carly Fiorina's post-debate moment is just a start: She needs support but faces more scrutiny":

Carly Fiorina fought and scraped her way to the top of the male-dominated business world, becoming chief executive of one of the tech industry's iconic companies.

She fought and scraped her way from an afterthought in the crowded Republican presidential field to the hands-down winner of Wednesday night's Reagan Presidential Library debate.

The question, now that Fiorina is having her moment: Does her underfunded campaign have the capacity to reap the benefits of her newfound momentum?

“We'll see if she capitalizes ... meaning raising some money so she can go out and begin making her case in the early states and beyond,” said Scott Reed, a veteran GOP strategist who is neutral in the Republican race. “The calendar has not changed. This is still a marathon and only candidates with the financial means are going to be able to go the distance.”

The first nominating votes in the contest are set for just over four months from now in Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Then comes a sprawling succession of primaries and caucuses.

Larry Gerston, a longtime Fiorina watcher and emeritus professor of political science at San Jose State, said after her widely acclaimed debate performance that the hard part is just beginning.

“This will be her moment. Not [Wednesday] night, really, but the next two-three weeks, assuming the next few polls show she's moved up,” he said.

Fiorina had won positive reviews after the first debate in August and has been well-received in the early-voting states. But that has not translated into strong fundraising, key endorsements or the organizational strength needed to seriously compete for the nomination.

Republican donors, notably in California, have been intrigued by Fiorina's rise from an asterisk in the polls to the top tier of candidates, but many have held off on opening their checkbooks. Her debate performance could convince them to donate.

Fiorina's campaign declined to provide details about fundraising, but the candidate headlined a fundraiser Thursday night in Los Angeles hosted by notable GOP donors, including former Univision chief Jerry Perenchio.

“Mr. Perenchio is very proud of her; he thinks she won the debate and he will continue to support her,” said Cassandra Vandenberg, a political advisor to Perenchio, who has donated more than $1 million to the super PAC backing Fiorina.

The super PAC, Carly for America, said Thursday that it had already seen an uptick in donations since the debate.

“We have definitely seen an increase in fundraising, an increase in Web traffic and an all-around surge of support,” said spokeswoman Katie Hughes, though she declined to provide details.

For all the raves, there is the risk of getting too carried away...

Keep reading.

Jennifer Lawrence for Christian Dior

At Vogue Australia, "Poppy Delevingne designs shoes with Aquazzura; Jennifer Lawrence’s new Dior campaign."

And watch, "Dior Addict, the new lipstick – Jennifer Lawrence’s Interview."

Donald Trump Responds to Man Saying Obama is Muslim During New Hampshire Event (VIDEO)

Watch, at AP, "Trump: No Correcting Man Saying Obama is Muslim."

And at CNN, via Memeorandum, "Trump declines to correct questioner who says Obama is a Muslim."

Maxboost iPhone 6 Screen Protector

Shop at Amazon, iPhone 6 Screen Protector, Maxboost® iPhone 6 Glass Screen Protector (4.7")- [Tempered Glass] World’s Thinnest Ballistics Glass, 99% Touch-screen Accurate, Round Edge [0.2mm] Ultra-clear Glass Screen Protector Perfect Fit for iPhone 6 6S (4.7 inch ONLY) Maximum Screen Protection from Bumps, Drops, Scrapes, and Marks (Lifetime No-Hassle Warranty).

Plus, Ann Coulter's in the news, so here's a link to her new book, Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.

Hottest Surfer/Singer Catherine Clark (VIDEO)

At Playboy, "Catherine Clark is the Hottest Surfer/Singer You'll Meet."

And on Instagram.