American Power

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Politics Isn't Local Anymore

Postcards from the culture war.

From Noah Rothman, at Commentary:

Democrats who had hoped to witness some sign in last night’s off-year elections that the public had abandoned their antipathy toward the president’s party ahead of 2016 saw those hopes unceremoniously crushed. With only a few of exceptions limited to the Northeast and a handful of urban centers, Democratic candidates and liberal causes were again trounced at the polls.

In Virginia, Democrats had hoped to recapture control of the state Senate, but the GOP majority held. Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s aspirations to turn his state into a laboratory experiment in which every progressive social policy favored in Washington would be imposed on Old Dominion’s residents were dashed. In San Francisco, the city’s sheriff who had staked his career on defending his “sanctuary cities” policy, which came under fire following the murder of Kate Steinle by a Mexican illegal immigrant, lost his job. Ballot measures in Ohio and Houston, Texas, regarding legalized marijuana and transgendered bathrooms (which would allow all men dressed as women to access female-only restrooms), went down in flames. Perhaps the most fascinating and far-reaching result from last night was the election of conservative outsider candidate Matt Bevin as Kentucky’s governor...

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "Houston's Transsexual Bathroom Ordinance Massively Repudiated at the Ballot Box."

(Be sure to watch the video above. It includes an advertisement produced by opponents of the transsexual bathroom ordinance.)

Houston's Transsexual Bathroom Ordinance Massively Repudiated at the Ballot Box

Radical leftists have gone into full psychiatric meltdown mode, even threatening opponents of the measure for harassment and intimidation.

At Twitchy, "Houston’s ‘bathroom ordinance’ is ‘absolutely crushed’ at ballot box, staining city’s reputation."

And at the Houston Chronicle, "Houston Equal Rights Ordinance fails by wide margin."

HOUSTON residents reject transgender bathroom redefinitions in referendum vote. https://t.co/kDuSLpy6Ec
— Vicki Mckenna (@VickiMcKenna) November 4, 2015

Supporters released a written statement Tuesday night: "We are disappointed with today's outcome, but our work to secure nondiscrimination protections for all hard-working Houstonians will continue. No one should have to live with the specter of discrimination hanging over them. Everyone should have the freedom to work hard, earn a decent living and provide for themselves and their families."

The ordinance bans discrimination based not just on gender identity and sexual orientation, but also 13 classes already protected under federal law: sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status.

Businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing and city contracting are all subject to the law and face up to $5,000 in fines for violations. Religious institutions, however, are exempt. The ordinance was in effect for only three months between extensive legal challenges.

City Council passed the law 11-6 in May last year, but conservative foes launched an effort to force a repeal referendum that spanned more than one year of legal challenges. In July, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the city to either repeal the law or place in the ballot. By a 12-5 vote, City Council opted for the latter, officially unleashing two dueling campaigns.

Political scientists expected the law to drive turnout, though without complete results it's not clear to what extent that has happened. But in early voting, approximately 130,000 city voters cast ballots, more than doubling pre-election day turnout in Houston's last open-seat mayor's race six years ago...

Get Ready for Thanksgiving

At Amazon, Thanksgiving Store.

Conservatives Roll Up Huge Victories Across the Country

From Glenn Reynolds, at Instapundit, "WASHINGTON POST: From coast to coast, conservatives score huge victories in off-year elections. “Even in San Francisco, the sheriff who steadfastly defended the city’s ‘sanctuary city’ policy went down”."

I'll have more. Last night was obviously a major preview of the 2016 election, which in addition to the economy, will no doubt be waged over the left's culture war on America.

More Evidence of the Toxic Environment on Many College Campuses Today

From Glenn Reynolds, at Instapundit, "HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, ANTISEMITISM EDITION: Israeli academic shouted down in lecture at University of Minnesota."

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

China Rolls Out First Large Passenger Jet (VIDEO)

This is interesting, at WSJ:

BEIJING—China’s first large passenger jet rolled off the assembly line on Monday after years of delays, bringing Beijing’s dream of developing a rival to Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE closer to reality.

Still, the single-aisle C919 airliner won’t be delivered to airlines for at least another three years, highlighting the difficulties China has faced in becoming a global player in aviation.

Developed by state-run Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, the twin-engine jet was initially set for its first flight in 2014, ahead of commercial deliveries starting in 2016. Production setbacks forced Comac to repeatedly extend its deadlines. Company executives say flight testing should start next year, with deliveries expected in 2018 or 2019 at the earliest.

Comac hasn’t disclosed list prices for the C919.

Thousands of guests, including government officials and aerospace executives, witnessed the C919’s rollout at an assembly plant near Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, according to Chinese state media.

As patriotic songs blared in a large hangar, the C919 prototype—decked out with white, blue and green Comac livery—emerged from behind red curtains under a banner that proclaimed “Dreams take flight” in Chinese, footage aired by state broadcaster China Central Television showed. The jet was then towed past guests before slowing to a stop just outside the hangar.

The 158-to-174 seater, designed in Shanghai but incorporating components sourced globally, relies on foreign technology, including avionics from Rockwell Collins Inc. and engines developed by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co. and the Snecma engine unit of France’s Safran SA. The jet is expected to undergo ground and flight tests spanning two to three years, before attaining certification from China’s civil-aviation regulator and entering commercial service.

China unveiled plans to develop the C919 in 2006 as part of a decadeslong effort to create an advanced aerospace sector capable of breaking the Airbus and Boeing duopoly. Coming after an abortive effort in the 1970s and early 1980s to develop a large commercial jetliner, the C919 was meant to help satisfy growing air-travel demand on the mainland, competing with the likes of Airbus’s A320 family and Boeing’s 737 series.

Airbus and Boeing, in separate emailed statements, congratulated Comac and welcomed competition from the Chinese aerospace firm, saying the aviation market is large enough to accommodate an additional manufacturer.

Airbus and Boeing, for their part, are seeking to shore up their market shares in China by building up an industrial footprint on the mainland, and developing new aircraft that can outperform coming Chinese rivals. Airbus assembles some A320s in the northeastern city of Tianjin, while Boeing in December announced plans for a 737 completion-and-delivery center in China, where aircraft will be painted and interiors installed.

Both companies also plan to widen the number of jets they make using carbon-fiber composite materials, which are lighter and considered more efficient. Boeing Chairman Jim McNerney said last year that Boeing was considering a new composite-materials aircraft that would replace its 737 Max in part because of potential competition from the C919...

More.

Teenagers Spend Average of 9 Hours Per Day Using Electronic Media (VIDEO)

At the Los Angeles Times, "Teens spend an average of 9 hours a day with media, survey finds":

Millennials might be obsessed with social media, but among teens, television is still king, according to a survey by Common Sense Media, an organization that monitors media use among young people.

Surveying 2,658 tweens and teens ages 8-18, the organization found that 58% of respondents said they watch television every day, while two-thirds of respondents said the same about listening to music. By contrast, 45% said they use social media every day, and only about a third of those social-media users said they liked it “a lot.”

In terms of video consumption, half of respondents said they watch a television program at the time it originally airs, while the rest is spent with DVDs, online video, or time-delayed viewing.

And while that’s a lot of screen time, Common Sense Media founder and chief executive James Steyer said the more concerning part is half the teens surveyed watched TV, sent text messages or consumed other forms of media while doing homework...

Also, "Here's what teens are really doing on their smartphones."

Embers of War

A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, from Professor Fredrik Logevall, Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam.

Embers of War photo Logevall_Embers-of-War-tp_zpstpkyx3mx.jpg

ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED WORKS OF HISTORY IN RECENT YEARS — Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians • Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • Finalist for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature.

Demand for Books on Marxism Surges in Britain with Rise of Labour's Jeremy Corbyn (VIDEO)

Yeah, because no doubt all these leftist loons are running out to scoop up copies of Marx's Capital.

Oh brother.

Watch, at Russia Today, where else?

Leftist Humanities Professoriate Abandons and Excoriates Traditional Curriculum

Here's Heather Mac Donald, for Prager University.

The video reminds me of an earlier entry, "Increasingly Leftist Colleges Abandon Greats and Teach Garbage."

New ObamaCare Open Enrollment Begins with Surging Premiums and Deductibles (VIDEO)

At WSJ, "Next Enrollment Season for Affordable Care Act Kicks Off":

This year has been described as one of the most difficult yet for the health law because the administration is trying to get the holdouts—an estimated 10.5 million or so uninsured who qualify for coverage on the exchanges—to buy health plans. They are seeking to market the coverage as affordable, especially because about eight in 10 shoppers are expected to be eligible for tax credits that reduce their premium costs.

But overcoming their affordability concerns will be made more difficult by the rising cost of health care on the exchanges. An analysis of 2016 plan data released Friday by the administration show deductibles on the midtier silver plans will go up 8% to $6,480 for a family plan, according to HealthPocket.com, a company that compares health-insurance plans.

Premiums are going up for 2016. The second-lowest-cost midrange “silver plan”—a key metric for premiums around the country—will increase 7.5% on average across the roughly three dozen states that rely on HealthCare.gov, according to the administration.

Seven in 10 returning customers will be able to buy a plan for $75 a month or less in monthly premiums, according to Health and Human Services.

Independence Blue Cross brought out a tractor trailer dubbed “Independence Express” at a shopping center in suburban Philadelphia with licensed agents and computers on board. They also saw calls from consumers looking to re-enroll for coverage Sunday.

“We’re seeing a steady stream of traffic,” said Paula Sunshine, vice president of consumer sales at Independence Blue Cross. “People are very pleased with their rates.”

Saumya Narechania, national field director for Enroll America, said churches and temples in Cincinnati, Ohio, were enrolling consumers. At event in Charlotte, N.C., had one or two customers lined up before the sign-up assistance kicked off. More than 2,000 people have made appointments for in-person assistance in the next seven days, he said. The organization is a key supporter of the health law.

The administration’s goal is to have about 10 million people with paid up coverage on the state and federal exchanges by the end of 2016. That is lower than earlier projections. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office earlier this year estimated that at least 20 million people would buy policies under the law for 2016 coverage.

“Affordability is a big issue in terms of how people make decisions, and we’ll be focused on that,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell in a briefing Wednesday with reporters.

Some consumers remain concerned. Peter Wainwright, 63, who retired from a telecommunications job, is a returning customer. He and his wife don’t get a subsidy and pay about $2,230 a month, and the rate is increasing for 2016.

“I get no subsidy,” said Mr. Wainwright, of Half Moon Bay, Calif. “Everything has gone up.”

RTWT.

Paranoia and the Surveillance State

I'm generally not paranoid, but still.

Don't miss this chilling piece at the Atlantic, "If You’re Not Paranoid, You’re Crazy."

And flashback to last month, "Social Media Self-Defense."

Sacramento Florin High School Principal Body-Slammed Trying to Break-Up Fight (VIDEO)

Following-up from Sunday, "Sacramento Unified High School Teacher Suspended after Allegedly Wrestling Student in Classroom (VIDEO)."

This story's interesting because the student who caught the principal being body-slammed was suspended for taking a video and sending it viral. She'd win a First Amendment case, no doubt.

At the Sacramento Bee, "Florin High’s punishment of student whose video went viral draws free speech questions."

And at CBS News Sacramento:

Monday, November 2, 2015

Heidi Klum Transformed Herself Into 'Jessica Rabbit' for Halloween

When she transforms she really transforms.

Check it out.

On Twitter, here, here, and here.

Also at ABC News, "Heidi Klum's 2015 Halloween Costume Finally Revealed," and TMZ, "Heidi Klum Throws Model Halloween Party."

Sexy Halloween at the Playboy Mansion (VIDEO)

Scary and sexy.

Watch, "Let the Playmates Guide You Through Our 2015 Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion."

Has Obama Set Loose a New Willie Horton?

Well, Democrat-leftists are the party of Willie Horton, so yeah.

At Politico, "Advocates on both sides of the sentencing reform movement are carefully watching the reentry of 6,000 federal prisoners released this weekend":

President Barack Obama is hoping there’s no Willie Horton among the 6,000 inmates being released early from federal prison.

Reducing the prison population is a key part of Obama’s push for criminal justice reform in his last year as president. He sees it as a way to repair broken communities and spare taxpayers the cost of housing low-level criminals. A bipartisan coalition in Congress is on board, too.

But the mass release set to be completed Monday will test the resolve of this new consensus heading into an election year. The infamous Willie Horton ad is on the minds of activists on both sides: They haven’t forgotten how the grainy, black-and-white mug shot of a bearded black man helped sink Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. As Massachusetts governor, “he allowed first-degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison,” said a voice-over, before describing how Horton kidnapped a couple and raped the woman while out on furlough.

The people released from Friday through Monday are not first-degree murderers — they’re low-level drug offenders, and almost a third are immigrants just headed for a different, predeportation detention — but opponents of sentencing reform are already looking for the next Horton.

“We’re fooling the public when we tell them we’re releasing nonviolent drug offenders,” said Steven Cook, head of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, who says downward trends in crime are thanks to the current system of tough sentences...

This is not good. "Non-violent criminals" are a leftist media myth.

Crime's already going up with the Black Lives Matter's "Ferguson effect." It's going up more. A lot more.

Donald Trump to Negotiate Directly with Networks on Presidential Debates

Well, it least he's looking to negotiate directly, and frankly, I'll bet he does.

At WaPo, "Trump's campaign says he'll negotiate directly with TV networks on debates":

The format and content of upcoming Republican debates became increasingly uncertain on Monday after Donald Trump’s campaign said the real estate mogul would negotiate his terms directly with television executives instead of as part of a joint effort with his rivals.

The move by Trump, coming just hours after his and other campaigns huddled in a Washington suburb to craft a three-page letter of possible demands, thwarts an effort to find consensus after what most candidates agreed was a debacle hosted by CNBC last week.

As a celebrity billionaire who has been a leading factor in drawing record ratings, Trump has little interest in working to promote the wishes of his opponents, his allies said...

Smart.

I wouldn't be promoting the interest of my opponents either, especially Jeb Bush.

More (via Memeorandum).

Uber Driver Attacked by Drunk Passenger in Costa Mesa (VIDEO)

Gnarly.

At the Next Web, "Uber driver uploads video of him being beaten by passenger in California."

And at CBS News This Morning:

Owner of Orange County Register Files for Bankruptcy

These guys have had an absolutely bizarre business strategy, focusing heavily on print media, which is strange in this day and age, to say the least.

At the O.C. Register, "With bankruptcy filing, local group bids for ownership of Freedom Communications":

When [Aaron] Kushner and [Eric] Spitz took over in July 2012, they stunned an ailing and shrinking newspaper industry. Their bets were heavy on print products. They expanded newspaper sections, added magazines, bought The Press-Enterprise for $27 million in November 2013 and launched the Los Angeles Register in April 2014. In addition, they dramatically increased subscription costs, de-emphasized Web publishing and put up one of the industry’s hardest online paywalls.

Few of those strategies paid off. As losses mounted, the owners turned to layoffs, buyouts and staff furloughs in 2014. The Los Angeles Register folded after five months.

Mirman, a veteran casino marketing executive, took over day-to-day leadership on an interim basis in October 2014 and became the top executive of Freedom and the two newspapers six months later. He said what started as simply a financial fix-it job for him has morphed into a passion to create a profitable and sustainable news operation. He now lives in Irvine.

“I’ve caught the bug of what news journalism can do in its community,” Mirman said. “I’m very intrigued by translating what we do into a long-lasting business. There are ways to make money in new and innovative ways.”

The bankruptcy move is not without risks. Numerous business decisions require court approval. The company gains relief from paying creditors, but those same creditors can wield some power in the process. There’s no guarantee the so-called stalking horse bid by Mirman and his investment team – which includes Michael Harrah, owner of the Santa Ana-based development firm Caribou Industries – will win the bankruptcy auction, which may be held within 90 days. (Harrah purchased the Register’s Santa Ana headquarters in 2014.)