Killing Reagan

It's Bill O'Reilly's new book, out this week.

At Amazon, Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency.

Daniel Thompson, Inventor of First Bagel-Making Machine, Dies at 94

This is an extremely interesting obituary.

I had blueberry bagels today, heh.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Daniel Thompson dies at 94; his invention made bagel a household word."

New Survey Purports to Prove That 1 in 5 Women Will Be Sexually Assaulted in College, Fails Badly

From Ashe Schow, at the Washington Examiner, "New sexual assault survey suffers same problems as others."

A great piece. Read it all at the link.

A War on College Men

From Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "Jared Polis’ idea to deprive college men of due process highlights toxic campus culture of discrimination against men":

Is Congress waging a war on college men?  It’s starting to look like it.

Last week, Rep. Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat, suggested that even innocent students should be booted from campus if they were accused of sexual assault. According to Polis: "If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people."

So one of the longstanding traditions of American law — that it is better to let 10 guilty men go free than to imprison one innocent — has now been turned on its head. Under the Polis standard, it’s basically the other way around.

According to Polis, it’s not such a big deal: "We’re not talking depriving them of life and liberty, we’re talking about their transfer to another university, for crying out loud," Polis said, laughing off the idea that his suggestion would violate due process rights. He is not alone in taking the due process rights of the accused lightly, a widely-backed Democratic senate bill is just more circumspect.

But it’s no laughing matter. A student with expulsion for sexual assault on his record will have great difficulty gaining admission to another college, with life-altering consequences. (If you don’t believe that, then you don’t think that college matters much, which is something I doubt higher education boosters want to maintain.) And even if he succeeds, the expulsion will affect his chances for employment for the rest of his life, too.

As UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh notes, Polis’s approach suggests that he doesn’t think the rights of the accused are very important at all: “Now I should say that there are certain positions where indeed a whiff of suspicion might be enough to get someone removed. I just hadn’t thought that being a college student would or should be one of them.”

Plus, as Volokh also notes, Polis’s approach punishes the innocent without doing much about the guilty...

That's a war on men alright, brought to you not just by asshole congressional Democrats, but by the Obama White House as well. (Also assholes, naturally.)

Still more.

Syracuse University Pulls 'Kiss Cam' After Allegations of Sexual Assault

Everything's sexual these days anyways, but then, sounds like some women were truly assaulted, so there's that.

At the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Carrier Dome pulls kiss cam after letter to the editor." (Via Memeorandum.)

And here's the letter, from Steve Port, "No means no, even on the Carrier Dome kiss cam."

L.A.'s Homelessness Emergency

It's Obamavilles all the way down.

Watch, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "L.A. City Council to Declare Local Emergency on Homelessness."

Harvard Professor Stanley Hoffmann Has Died

He used to publish prodigiously at the New York Review, especially during the early 1990s, when I was in graduate school. (Most of his work there is gated, but not this piece, "Bush Abroad.")

I always saw him as more of a great public intellectual rather than a theory-driven political scientist. Wise and urbane.

See the New York Times, "Stanley Hoffmann, Who Brought Passion to Foreign Policy Analysis, Dies at 86."

Also from Peter Gourevitch, at Duck of Minerva, "Stanley Hoffmann’s approach to studying politics: in memoriam 1928-2015."

And see Art Goldhammer, "Stanley Hoffmann Was One of the Great Professors of Our Time."

#ShoutYourAbortion

Here's America's political polarization for you, arrayed along one irreconcilable policy issue.

At BuzzFeed, "The Hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion is Challenging the Stigma of Abortion."

The genuinely evil leftist death-cult is on full display, and called out at Twitchy, "#ShoutYourAdoption! Pro-lifers fight back against repulsive pro-abort hashtag [pics]."

Last week a majority of 58 percent of Americans said that abortion "should be illegal in most" circumstances, so clearly the demonic left is an extreme fringe minority of the devil's serpents.

They're determined though, a driven diabolical cult of evil.

More than 100 Killed by Boko Haram Bombings in Nigeria

How many times now could this headline have been posted?

People yawn at news like this, especially in the Obama White House.

At the New York Times:

ABUJA, Nigeria — More than 100 people were killed Sunday evening in northern Nigeria in a quick succession of what appeared to be carefully coordinated bombings by Boko Haram, the Islamist extremist group.

The attacks, near the airport in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, were the deadliest in months. They suggested the group’s enduring strength despite the Nigerian government’s assertions that Boko Haram had been severely weakened and President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to wipe out its last members within three months.

The four explosions detonated within 25 minutes on Sunday evening in an area called Gommari in Maiduguri. The targets included a railway crossing, a mosque, a video center where fans were watching a soccer match and a market where Muslims were buying sheep and other provision for the coming Eid al-Adha holiday.

“More than 100 have died so far,” Abba Mohammed Bashir Shuwa, an aide to Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno, said in a telephone interview on Monday evening.

Mr. Shuwa said Boko Haram insurgents had taken advantage of the Muslim holiday week, during which many residents of surrounding villages gravitate to Maiduguri to shop.

“That’s what happened,” he said. “They melted among the villagers and came in as traders.”

Mr. Shuwa said that recent military gains had significantly weakened Boko Haram and that the attacks had been carried out by “remaining pockets that seek opportunities to strike.”

Col. Sani Usman, the army spokesman, said in a statement that the “attacks signify high level of desperation on the part of the Boko Haram terrorists.”

In staging the attacks during the holiday week, Boko Haram ensured that casualties would be high. Also, in keeping with the group’s long campaign of terrorizing the population with bombings, abductions and plundering, the attacks were certain to disrupt the state’s holiday celebrations...

More.

Plus, flashback to January: "Boko Haram: The Islamic State of Africa."

Here's Mary Katharine Ham's New Book

I know the fundraiser's going well, but book sales won't hurt either.

At Amazon, End of Discussion: How the Left's Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun).

Fundraiser for Mary Katharine Ham Hits $200,000

This is wonderful, and not only that: If donations keep coming in Mary Katharine will use the funding to finance her late husband's charities. That is, once all of the children's educational needs are met, the rest of the money will go to help others. "That’s what kind of person she is. At a moment of supreme horror and panic, she thought of how she might do some good for others too."

At Hot Air, "You did it: Jake Brewer memorial education fund reaches $200,000 goal."

And ICYMI, "Jacob Thomas Brewer, Husband to Mary Katharine Ham, Has Died."

Jackie Johnson's Got Your Tuesday Forecast

Today felt like we were transitioning to fall, especially with some gusty winds here and there.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Good Girl Gone Bad! Carrie Underwood Rocks London in Tiny Black Lace Shorts — Hot Legs!

And she's such a wholesome lady too, lol.

At London's Daily Mail, "Good Girl gone bad! Carrie Underwood sizzles in tiny black lace shorts as she rocks out at Apple Music Festival in London."

Hillary Clinton Was Kinda 'Put Off' by Homosexuals

Heh, so big progressive Grandma Clinton "didn't feel comfortable" around homosexuals, you know, because of her "conservative religious temperament."

Well, yeah, and neo-Confederates backed Bill Clinton in 1992, but facts are verboten to discussion by lame-stream media talking heads and Democrat Party enablers.

These people are pathological liars who will do anything to get elected.

See AoSHQ, "Bill Clinton, in 2000: I Fear Hillary's Discomfort With Gay People Might Hurt Her Political Career."

California Leftists Push Ballot Measures to Extend Prop. 30's 'Temporary' Tax Hikes

Unexpectedly!

For leftists, there's no such thing as "temporary tax hikes."

At the Los Angeles Times, "Are higher taxes here to stay? Activists push for Prop. 30 extensions":

Gov. Jerry Brown may have expressed reservations about continuing the temporary tax hikes he championed three years ago, but activist groups are pushing forward anyway.

Two campaigns are circulating initiatives to extend some parts of Proposition 30, with the goal of collecting enough signatures to place their proposals on the November 2016 ballot.

One of them, which filed its initiative on Monday, is even using the same political firm, SCN Strategies, that helped elect Brown and convince voters to pass his tax-hike plan in 2012.

Called the “Invest in California’s Children Act,” it would make permanent the higher income taxes set by Proposition 30, which are currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2018. (The quarter-cent sales tax hike would be allowed the lapse.) The proposal would also set higher levies for households earning more than $2 million a year.

Called the “Invest in California’s Children Act,” it would make permanent the higher income taxes set by Proposition 30, which are currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2018. (The quarter-cent sales tax hike would be allowed the lapse.) The proposal would also set higher levies for households earning more than $2 million a year.

Revenue from the taxes is estimated at $10 billion per year, with 45% for K-12 schools, 5% for community colleges, 10% for early childhood programs and 40% for Medi-Cal. It would also ensure some money was deposited in a reserve fund specifically for funding child services, a step intended to shield the programs from cuts during an economic recession.

Asked if the campaign has received or asked for Brown's support, spokesman Dan Newman said, "We're reaching out to all the stakeholders."

The initiative is backed by the California Hospital Assn. and a chapter of the Service Employees International Union representing healthcare workers.

They're not the only powerful interest groups seeking to preserve Proposition 30 revenue. Last week another initiative, the School Funding and Budget Stability Act, was filed by the California Teachers Assn. and the statewide Service Employees International Union.

Instead of making the income tax hike permanent, it would extend them until 2030. All of the money, up to an estimated $9 billion per year, would be sent to schools and community colleges. There would be no additional tax on households earning more than $2 million annually...

LOL! It's for the children!

And hey, don't miss the comments:

ENOUGH ALREADY. Cut some heavily abused programs like food stamps, EBT and welfare. I'm so tired of seeing people use EBT cards in line at the supermarket while using their iPhone 6's and getting into new cars out in the parking lot.

FRANKEN_STEIN

Yeah, they pick up lobster and thick top sirloin steaks with the EBT cards too. Sh*t's out of control.

Playboy Playmates Show You How They Work Out (VIDEO)

Well, doesn't this get you fired up for a rigorous workout, IYKWIMAITYD?

Watch, "Enjoy this compilation of Playmates working out. From cardio, to jump rope, and yoga, Amanda Cerny, Britt Linn, Gemma Lee Farrell, Val Keil, Crystal Hefner, and Kennedy Summers know exactly what they're doing to stay in shape for the upcoming holidays."

Kate Bock for Sports Illustrated

Following-up from April, "Kate Bock, Über Canadian."

Here's more of the lovely:

Essential Men's Clothing for the Fall Season

Shop at Amazon, Shop Fashion - Men's Clothing.

Plus, I think they're really pushing these, All-New Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi.

Obligatory: Scott Walker Quits 2016 Presidential Race (VIDEO)

Well, he's dropped like a brick since the first debate, and campaign funding has dried up faster than the California drought.

Everybody's talking about it, at Memeorandum, "Scott Walker Quits 2016 Presidential Field."

And watch, via Fox News:

Why I've Finally Given Up on the Left

Heh.

This is pretty good, from Nick Cohen, at the Spectator UK, "The level of hatred directed by the Corbyn left at Labour people who have fought Tories all their lives is as menacing as it is ridiculous. If you are a woman, you face misogyny. Kate Godfrey, the centrist Labour candidate in Stafford, told the Times she had received death threats and pornographic hate mail after challenging her local left. If you are a man, you are condemned in language not heard since the fall of Marxist Leninism." (Via Blazing Cat Fur.)