Donald Trump's Exit Strategy

He'd quit the race rather than lose a primary.

Or so they say at the New York Times, "From Donald Trump, Hints of a Campaign Exit Strategy."

We'll see. As I always say, we'll see.

Controversy Over UCLA's ‘Kanye Western’ Theme Party (VIDEO)

At Instapundit, "UNIVERSITIES HAVE NO BUSINESS PUNISHING ANYONE FOR SPEECH, “OFFENSIVE” OR OTHERWISE: UCLA Is Investigating a Fraternity’s Offensive ‘Kanye Western’ Theme Party. It Shouldn’t."

And watch, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "UCLA Frat, Sorority In Hot Water After Hosting Kanye West-Themed Blackface Party."

Republican Party Chaos

Following-up from earlier, "Grass-Roots Anger Transforms Republican Party Establishment."

From Karen Tumulty, at WaPo, "The GOP sinks deeper into chaos. Can it still function as a party?":

Less than a year after a sweeping electoral triumph, Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national political party.

The most powerful and crippling force at work in the ­once-hierarchical GOP is anger, directed as much at its own leaders as anywhere else.

First, a contingent of several dozen conservative House members effectively forced Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) to resign rather than face a possibly losing battle to hold on to his job. Now they have claimed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who had been considered the favorite to replace Boehner until he announced Thursday that he is dropping out of the race.

With no obvious replacement for Boehner in sight, “it is total confusion — a banana republic,” said Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.). “Any plan, anything you anticipate — who knows what’ll happen? People are crying, they don’t have any idea how this will unfold, at all.”

Parallel currents of rage and chaos have been roiling the 2016 presidential race, diminishing hopes that an eventual nominee can bring order and direction to the increasingly dysfunctional party.

Initially, GOP elders believed that their primary would be a showcase for a cast of ­well-regarded senators and governors, current and former. They were confident it would be an appealing contrast to the quirky group of GOP candidates who had run in 2012, and to the Democratic contest, where Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared to be cruising to the nomination.

But government experience has become a liability for Republicans, rather than a credential. Celebrity billionaire Donald Trump, the leader in every poll, has rallied the conservative base by mocking the entire GOP establishment as weak and feckless. Many of the other candidates have followed his lead.

“You know Kevin McCarthy is out, you know that, right?” Trump crowed to a crowd of about 1,500 in Las Vegas, “They’re giving me a lot of credit for that, because I said you really need somebody very, very tough — and very smart.”

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a presidential contender at the back of the pack, added in a statement blasted out by e-mail: “The race for Speaker of the House is not about Kevin McCarthy, it’s about burning the corrupt Washington political machine to the ground and rebuilding our country.”

The forces that have made the House ungovernable are coming from the same wellspring of insurgency, beginning with the tea party movement, that propelled the Republicans back into control of Congress...

Still more.

Let's Rip Raven-Symoné for Ripping Black Names

A bird's eye view to our fucked up culture, from Jamilah-Asali Isoké Lemieux, at Ebony, "Raven-Symoné Rips Black Names, But Forgot About Her Own."

And here's all the fuss, "The View‘s Raven-Symoné: I Discriminate Against ‘Ghetto’ Names Like ‘Watermelondrea’."

Grass-Roots Anger Transforms Republican Party Establishment

It's hard out there for a Republican.

At WSJ, "Grass-Roots Anger Transforms Republican Party in Congress and Presidential Campaign":

WASHINGTON—The insurgent uprisings rocking the Republican Party in Congress and the presidential campaign are creating heartburn among establishment party figures, who worry an unguided fury will keep the GOP from reclaiming the White House next fall. But that same turmoil is eliciting cheers from many in the party’s grass roots, who, far from fearing the turbulence, think it serves their burning desire to force changes in the government.

Both sides suspect that the Grand Old Party, long run by a hierarchical and well-organized elite, is being transformed by the conservative anger that initially propelled the party back to congressional power in 2010.

The shocking news that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) abandoned his bid to become House speaker on Thursday put an exclamation point on the party’s divisions. Coming on the heels of House Speaker John Boehner’s own surprise resignation, the episode showed the growing clout of the activist wing of the party, which is also fueling the White House bids of celebrity real-estate developer Donald Trump and other political newcomers.

“Everyone in Washington is in denial and they wonder when this bubble is going to burst; it ain’t going to burst,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “The House Republican turmoil is a symptom of the larger tidal wave. It is not a problem in itself.”

One GOP presidential candidate openly taunted his party’s leaders over the upheaval in Washington. “It’s bedlam in Washington right now,” Mr. Trump declared at an event Thursday in Las Vegas. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

GOP lawmakers are hoping that the storm in Congress will be calmed if Rep. Paul Ryan, a conservative who enjoys respect across the party, can be persuaded to run for speaker. On the presidential trail, many establishment-oriented Republicans are despairing of finding a way to restore order—other than to wait for the insurgent spirit to burn out and let a more conventional candidate emerge and lead the party into 2016.

“It’s quite a mess,” said Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “What went on in D.C. is a reminder it’s not just confined to the presidential race.”

The fissures first appeared before President Barack Obama took office but have grown pronounced now that he is on his way out. The tumult is driven by long-simmering, grass-roots frustration with the party establishment since George W. Bush’s presidency.

The turmoil produced some of the party’s biggest successes—the GOP takeover of the House, its dominance in state governments around the country and its seizure of Senate control—but also stacked Congress with more conservative, confrontational lawmakers. One factor is the absence of one clear national leader. Conservative groups and talk-radio hosts have filled the void, agitating against party leaders or anyone deemed an “establishment figure.”

Still more.

The Outrage Industry

I just found out about this book, from Jeffrey Berry and Sarah Sobieraj, The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility.

Also, from Alan Abramowitz, The Polarized Public: Why American Government is so Dysfunctional.

Democrats Move Left on Immigration, Republicans Move Right

Well, it must have taken Einstein to figure that out.

At LAT, "Democrats move left on immigration, GOP to the right":

American views on immigration have grown more polarized, with Republicans taking harder-line positions as Democrats and independents take more liberal stands, a new poll indicates.

The shift can be seen on several issues, including whether children born in the U.S. to people in the country illegally should be eligible for citizenship. Over the last nine years, Democrats have become steadily more supportive of so-called birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. Republicans have become slightly more opposed to it.

Just more than half of Republicans favor amending the Constitution to end birthright citizenship, according to a new poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Donald Trump is among the leading Republicans who have called recently for ending birthright citizenship, although Trump has argued the change could be made without amending the Constitution.

Fewer than 1 in 4 Democrats back an end to birthright citizenship, the poll found. That's a notable shift since 2006, when slightly more than 1 in 3 Democrats took that position. Among independents, 37% would back a constitutional amendment, down from 44% in 2006. Blacks and Latinos have both become more opposed to an amendment, as have Americans younger than 50.

A similar shift has taken place on the issue of building a fence along the entire U.S. border with Mexico. Overall public opinion has remained stable, with just less than half of Americans backing the idea. But support has grown in the GOP, from 65% in a 2007 Pew survey to 73% now. Democrats have gone in the opposite direction, from 37% support to 29%.

Despite the intense campaign debate among Republicans over immigration, two-thirds of Republicans continue to say that they believe that at least some immigrants in the U.S. illegally should be allowed to stay. One-third say they should not be allowed to stay, the position taken by Trump and several other GOP presidential candidates.

Armed Activists Protest Obama Visit to Roseburg, Oregon (VIDEO)

From Nina Mehlhaf, on Twitter, "Anti-Obama protestors already gathering at Roseburg airport-some w/ holstered guns saying not to politicize tragedy," and "More Roseburg protestors showing off their right to carry guns well ahead of the President's arrival."

Also at Gateway Pundit, "HUNDREDS TURN OUT to Protest Barack Obama in Oregon “Go Golf!” (VIDEO)." (Via Memeorandum.)

And watch, "AMAZING turnout today to protest Obama in Oregon after the mass shooting at Umpqua College."

California Coastal Commission Bans Captive Breeding of Orcas at SeaWorld (VIDEO)

Look, leftists are trying to shut down SeaWorld, and they're winning.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Coastal Commission bans captive orca breeding at SeaWorld San Diego."

And at the San Diego Union-Tribune, "The Coastal Commission’s dubious decision to ban whale sex at SeaWorld":

The authoritarian decision by the California Coastal Commission to ban breeding of killer whales at SeaWorld San Diego seemingly carries the unusual assertion that the commission has the authority to regulate mammalian procreation in the coastal zone. The legal foundation for that is clearly shaky.

The commission was already on dubious legal ground when its staff demanded that, as a condition of approval for SeaWorld’s proposal to double the size of its orca habitat, it agree to take no more whales from the wild. That is a federal issue; the park is licensed and authorized to operate as a public display facility for orcas under two federal animal-welfare laws. But SeaWorld hasn’t taken any whales from the wild for 35 years anyway, so it agreed to that condition before Thursday’s hearing.

The new conditions prohibiting captive breeding and whale transfers, apparently meaning SeaWorld also cannot bring orcas here from its other parks, were another matter. They will over time mean the end of the park’s whale programs. And that could mean the end of SeaWorld, at least in San Diego.

The commission decision was based on emotion and shallow animal-rights politics. It fails to recognize that breeding is a fundamental part of orca life...

Common Response After Killings in Oregon: 'I Want to Have a Gun'

Makes sense. Well, that is if you're a normal American.

At the New York Times.

8th-Grader Wearing Patriotic Pro-Veteran T-Shirt Sent Home from Dexter McCarthy Middle School in Gresham, Oregon (VIDEO)

This stuff is despicable and out of control.

At KOIN News 6 Portland, "Principal sends student home for patriotic shirt with gun."

UPDATE: Linked at Legal Insurrection, "8th Grader sent home for patriotic shirt with gun image on it (#IStandWithAlan)." Thanks!

Renee Ellmers Resignation Rumors

Kevin McCarthy resignation rumors as well.

At Twitchy, "DEVELOPING: Amid affair rumors, Kevin McCarthy and Renee Ellmers expected to resign?"

PREVIOUSLY: "The Renee Ellmers Rumor and Kevin McCarthy’s Decision (CACHED)."

HIllary Clinton's Laughable Internet Illiteracy

From Ashe Schow, at the Observer, "Hillary Clinton’s (Democrat) Woman Privilege":

The drip, drip of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails has revealed one narrative that doesn’t seem to have been played up in the media.

Hillary Clinton is technologically illiterate. If she were a Republican man, she would be chastised for being so bad at, well, everything that has to do with technology. Heck, if she were a Republican woman, she’d be ripped to shreds as a moron on par with how the media treated former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin or former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. If either of those two women couldn’t figure out how to find an NPR station, for example (as Ms. Clinton couldn’t), they would be the subject of continuous mockery.

Saturday Night Live’s repeated skits about Ms. Palin, for example, led many people to believe the former 2008 vice presidential candidate actually said she could see Russia from her backyard.

But with Ms. Clinton, the comedy sketches to date have been tepid (humorous, but tepid) and have avoided her obvious failings with technology. Now would be the time to list a couple examples of Ms. Clinton’s—let’s call them “disagreements”—with technology, but I think the sheer number of these instances needs to be pointed out. I’m also going to include some other instances of Ms. Clinton showing she’s out of touch with regular people...

Keep reading. It's gold.

Stunning Footage of the Northern Lights

Watch:

Hamas Chief Calls Surge of Violence a New Palestinian Intifada (VIDEO)

At the Times of Israel, "Hamas leader declares ‘intifada’ in the West Bank":

Hamas’s chief in Gaza on Friday called violence that has hit Israel and the West Bank in recent days an “intifada” and urged further unrest.

“We are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada… It is the only path that will lead to liberation,” Ismail Haniyeh said during a sermon for weekly Muslim prayers at a mosque in Gaza City.

“Gaza will fulfill its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation,” he added.

The Islamic terror movement Hamas rules Gaza, the Palestinian enclave squeezed between Egypt and Israel and separated from the West Bank.

Gaza has been the site of three wars with Israel since 2008, but it has remained mainly calm amid the recent unrest in Israel and the West Bank...

Also at the Guardian UK, "Violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories – the Guardian briefing," and "Hamas leader in Gaza declares intifada as deadly attacks continue."

National Dialogue Quartet wins Nobel Peace Prize (VIDEO)

It's the Tunisian pro-democracy group that pushed the Arab Spring.

At USA Today, "Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet wins Nobel Peace Prize":

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for its efforts to bring democracy to the country, where the political upheaval in 2011 sparked pro-democracy movements throughout the Arab world.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the group "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011."

“It established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war,” the committee said.

The National Dialogue Quartet is made up of four organizations: the Tunisian General Labour Union; Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; Tunisian Human Rights League; and Tunisian Order of Lawyers....

More.

Plus, so far so good, at the Times of Israel, "Tunisia’s elections represent yet another Muslim Brotherhood defeat."

The Renee Ellmers Rumor and Kevin McCarthy’s Decision (CACHED)

This was at Memeorandum earlier today, "The Renee Ellmers Rumor and Kevin McCarthy's Decision."

But clicking through shows that the post, at Red State, was taken down. It turns out Congresswoman Ellmers got a cease and desist order against Erick Erickson. See Matt Lewis, "Why did Kevin McCarthy quit?"

The cached version of Red State is here, "The Renee Ellmers Rumor and Kevin McCarthy’s Decision."

These are salacious rumors. Renee Ellmers is a hot woman. See Terresa Monroe-Hamilton, at Right Wing News, "Rumored Renee Ellmers Affair Helps Drive Establishment Squish Kevin McCarthy Out of Speaker’s Race [Video]."

France Train Hero Spencer Stone Stabbed in Sacramento Street Fight (VIDEO)

The Sacramento Police Department's going all out in stressing that the knife attack on decorated hero Spencer Stone wasn't terrorism.

See the Sacramento Bee, "Train hero Spencer Stone stabbed, in serious condition."

But news reports out of Britain say that authorities are searching for two "Asian" suspects, which for the politically correct British media means two Muslim suspects. See Jihad Watch, "Spencer Stone stabbing: police searching for two “Asian” male suspects, say attack not terrorism":

The Daily Mail is a British paper, and in the British press, “Asian” is the universally-employed code word for “Muslim.” If this British paper is suddenly using the word to refer, as in the American custom, to people from China or Japan, they’re not saying so. It is also possible that the Sacramento police said they were looking for “Asians,” by which they really did mean Chinese or Japanese or Koreans or Southeast Asians, etc., and the Daily Mail is too careless to note the difference in usage.

And so now the plot thickens. Police are insisting this attack had nothing to do with terrorism, but they always do that, no matter what the circumstances. If Spencer Stone was indeed stabbed by Muslims, then the possibility that the stabbing was related to his stopping the jihad attack on the French train cannot be dismissed out of hand...

Also at Atlas Shrugs, "Watch VIDEO: CCTV of Fight, France Train Hero Stabbed, Police Hunt 'Asians,' aka Muslims."

The 7-inch Amazon Fire Tablet

They're hoping to do high volume with these.

At Amazon, Fire, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black.

Plus, from Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924.

Germany Faces Few Mass Shootings Amid Tough Gun Laws

Well, we're not Germany, but then, leftists never tire of attacking America's tradition of freedom and basic constitutional guarantees.

At the New York Times.