Deal of the Day: Honeywell Humidifier

At Amazon, Honeywell Cool Moisture Console Humidifier, 46 Percent Off.

Also, Up to 50% Off Select Baseball and Softball Training Equipment.

And ICYMI, from Robert Gildea, Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance.

Also, from Robert Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism, and Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944.

Still more, from A. James Gregor, Mussolini's Intellectuals: Fascist Social and Political Thought.

BONUS: Roy MacGregor-Hastie, The Day of the Lion the Life and Death of Fascist Italy 1922-1945.

Gawker's Alex 'Ping Pong Balls' Pareene Behind Donald Trump 'Mussolini Quote' Retweet

Folks might recall Alex Pareene as the former wanker Wonkette blogger who attacked Michelle Malkin with racist Asian "ping pong balls" jokes back in 2006.

So, I personally don't take all of this Trump Mussolini retweet stuff too seriously. These assholes at Gawker are professional smear merchants, and the quote in question isn't even original to Mussolini.

Here's Pareene at Gawker, at Memeorandum, "How We Fooled Donald Trump Into Retweeting Benito Mussolini."

Everyone's picked up on this story, at the New York Times, for example, "Donald Trump Retweets Post With Quote From Mussolini."

More at Memeorandum.

And scroll through 20 Committee's feed for a while. That "Mussolini quote" apparently preceded the dictator's time in power:

This is the source of the "Mussolini quote": the original, scrawled on a house in June 1918, during the Piave battle pic.twitter.com/yY3zWKdanC

— John Schindler (@20committee) February 28, 2016

Tulsi Gabbard Resigns as Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (VIDEO)

Weird, though, is that she's backing Bernie Sanders.

She's a good lady who needs to get the hell out of the Democrat Party.

At Twitchy, "Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has resigned as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee."

I gotta say, it looks like she drank some Kool-Aid here, lol.

South Carolina Sets Up Super Tuesday Endgame for Bernie Sanders

I was saying so much last night, "Hillary Clinton Wins South Carolina Primary (VIDEO)."

At Politico, "Hillary Clinton's romp dramatically narrows Bernie Sanders' path forward":

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A bruising, 48-point loss to Hillary Clinton in South Carolina Saturday night dramatically narrowed the path forward for Bernie Sanders, raising serious doubts about his ability to win the delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

South Carolina will widen Clinton’s delegate lead, currently at one after her Nevada win. But more significant, the contest here demonstrated that the Vermont senator has failed to make any headway at all with African-American voters in the South – even with 200 paid Sanders staffers on the ground and nearly $2 million in television spending, Clinton swept the black vote by a five-to-one ratio, according to exit polls. Among black voters 65 and over, Clinton won by a stunning 96 to 3 percent.

“When we stand together there is no barrier too big to break,” Clinton said at her victory rally in Columbia, where she took the stage alone for the first time without Bill or Chelsea Clinton by her side. “Tomorrow, we take this campaign national.”

Now, heading into Super Tuesday when 11 states will cast ballots on March 1, Sanders will face possibly insurmountable contests in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Virginia, all states with sizable black populations and where he has not invested as much time or money.

“Delegates determine the presidential nomination and I don’t see a path for Sanders to get there,” said Jeff Berman, a consultant to the Clinton campaign who ran Barack Obama’s 2008 delegate strategy.

Running through a best-case scenario for Sanders, Clinton operatives said they expect Sanders could win Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Vermont – states tailor-made for Sanders because they are caucus states, predominantly white states, New England states, or states with a history of electing progressives.

But even if Sanders manages to pull out significant wins in all five, the delegate math will make it difficult for Sanders to catch up – they represent only one-third of the delegates up for grabs on March 1. And the Clinton campaign has invested heavily in states like Colorado and Minnesota in order to limit Sanders’ margins.

Sanders’ operatives said they are looking beyond Super Tuesday, to the more friendly terrain of Kansas, Nebraska, and Maine to deliver them wins. But by then, Clinton operatives predicted, it could be too little too late to close the delegate gap.

“Our delegate lead will only grow in the period after Super Tuesday,” Berman said.

More.

Hillary Clinton Wins South Carolina Primary (VIDEO)

I think this is the turning of the tide.

South Carolina's results were never in doubt, although the margin for Clinton is pretty spectacular. And with just a few days until Super Tuesday, the importance of the Palmetto State for Clinton can't be understated. She can start to put Bernie away.

At the Last Tradition, "Hillary burns the Hell out of Bernie Sanders in huge SC primary victory thanks to the always reliable robotic Black vote."

And at the New York Times, "Hillary Clinton Wins South Carolina Primary."

Plus, at ABC News, "Black Voters Boost Clinton in South Carolina" (via Memeorandum):

Overwhelming support and record turnout among black voters and her best showing to date among whites gave Hillary Clinton a powerful victory in Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina.

Blacks accounted for 61 percent of South Carolina Democratic primary voters in ABC News exit poll results, breaking the state’s record, 55 percent in 2008. And Clinton won 86b percent of their votes, a crushing score. Indeed she did significantly better with blacks in South Carolina than Barack Obama in 2008...

Keep reading.

Amber Lee's Sunday Forecast

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Harvard Professor Danielle Allen Warns America: We Must Stop Donald Trump

People are asking why I like Donald Trump.

Well, to see him send otherwise thoughtful, rational people into puddles of incoherent rage about the impending neo-Nazi doom is just hilarious. If he's frightening left-wing elites that much, they must not be giving Hillary much of a chance next November. We've gotta stop Donald Trump before it's too late!

Here's Professor Allen, interviewed by Michael Smerconish at CNN,  "'We Must Stop Trump' says Washington Post op-ed writer."

And here's the op-ed in question, "The moment of truth: We must stop Trump."

Neolite Double Camping Hammock

A bestselling item at Amazon, Neolite Double Camping Hammock - Lightweight Portable Nylon Parachute Hammock for Backpacking, Travel, Beach, Yard. Hammock Straps & Steel Carabiners Included.

Plus, from Randy Barnett, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People.

And from David Bernstein, Lawless: The Obama Administration's Unprecedented Assault on the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Still more, from Dean Reuter, Liberty's Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State.

BONUS: From Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition.

Why We Don't Hear About the 15-Year Global Warming Hiatus

From David Whitehouse, at the Spectator UK, "A new paper in a prestigious journal proves a 15-year hiatus in global warming. Why is it being ignored?"

Hat Tip: Blazing Cat Fur, "This article, in Nature magazine, ought to have been front page news – and might have been, had it suggested that global warming was worse than we had thought..."

Deal of the Day: Save $15.00 on All-New Fire TV

At Amazon, All-new Fire TV – Now with 4K Ultra HD and Alexa.

Also, All-new Fire TV Gaming Edition.

Plus, from Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.

Also, Devah Pager, Marked: Race, Crime and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration.

Still more, from Alice Goffman, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City.

Starving on the Prosciutto-and-Brie Poverty Diet

Heh.

I read Talia Jane's over-the-top piss-and-moan screed ("open-letter") to Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, and while true, it's hard out there making rent and paying the bills, the fact is we all go through that period of life and you find ways to deal with it. (Taking on a roommate halves the cost of rent, for example.)

But read Michelle Malkin's response to the whiny, entitled brat, here:

Eagle-eyed Internet users archived Instagram and Twitter images of Talia Jane indulging in a spa day with a fashionable facial mask made of Lush-brand coffee grounds; showing off her well-stocked kitchen, where she baked sumptuous cupcakes, “prosciutto-brie-cilantro-garlic biscuits,” “brie-stuffed meatballs topped with brie and rosemary sprigs,” “roast chuck marinated in herbs,” “a s— ton of Swedish potatoes au gratin,” and “mini pumpkin pies.”

In one of her richer moments (pun intended), Jane brags about having Bulleit Kentucky Bourbon delivered to her office through a smartphone app. “I’ve been meaning to buy whiskey,” she burbles, but I always forget until after I’m phone and my pants are off” (presumably when she’s under all her blankets shivering from cold and deprivation). “(A)lcohol delivery services aren’t available where I live because I’m in the suburbs,” so “I had alcohol delivery to my job. (O)ddly enough, no one asked about it.”

Starving on a “living wage” with booze delivered straight to her desk. The struggle is so real.

My husband and I immediately read this fraud’s screed to our 15-year-old and 12-year-old children as an object lesson in how not to be a grown-up:

Demand more than you are worth.

Expect all the benefits of autonomy without any of the accountability.

Snivel, moan, repeat.

Ms. Talia was fired, by the way. Pretty richly deserved that, heh.

Inside the Republican Party's Pathetic, Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Donald Trump

This entire piece just drips with the GOPe's utter contempt for the rank-and-file white working-class voter.

The issues Donald Trump has championed should be the top GOPe priorities, but party elites (idiots) are obsessed with diversity and winning the Hispanic vote (and not alienating Muslims, I guess).

In any case, at the New York Times, "Inside the Republican Party’s Desperate Mission to Stop Donald Trump":

Despite all the forces arrayed against Mr. Trump, the interviews show, the party has been gripped by a nearly incapacitating leadership vacuum and a paralytic sense of indecision and despair, as he has won smashing victories in South Carolina and Nevada. Donors have dreaded the consequences of clashing with Mr. Trump directly. Elected officials have balked at attacking him out of concern that they might unintentionally fuel his populist revolt. And Republicans have lacked someone from outside the presidential race who could help set the terms of debate from afar.

The endorsement by Mr. Christie, a not unblemished but still highly regarded figure within the party’s elite — he is a former chairman of the Republican Governors Association — landed Friday with crippling force. It was by far the most important defection to Mr. Trump’s insurgency: Mr. Christie may give cover to other Republicans tempted to join Mr. Trump rather than trying to beat him. Not just the Stop Trump forces seemed in peril, but also the traditional party establishment itself.

Should Mr. Trump clinch the presidential nomination, it would represent a rout of historic proportions for the institutional Republican Party, and could set off an internal rift unseen in either party for a half-century, since white Southerners abandoned the Democratic Party en masse during the civil rights movement.

Former Gov. Michael O. Leavitt of Utah, a top adviser to Mr. Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, said the party was unable to come up with a united front to quash Mr. Trump’s campaign.

“There is no mechanism,” Mr. Leavitt said. “There is no smoke-filled room. If there is, I’ve never seen it, nor do I know anyone who has. This is going to play out in the way that it will.”

Via Memeorandum.

Amazing Christina Ricci Bikini Photos

Thirty-six years old and she's in fantastic condition.

Those triceps are buffed!

At London's Daily Mail, "PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Christina Ricci reveals her tattoo collection on bikini break with family to celebrate her 36th birthday."

Cheryl Tiegs Slams Politically-Correct 'Plus-Sized' Models for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (VIDEO)

Well, I happen to think Ashley Graham's pretty hot, but if she'd have lost those extra pounds, would she have even been a cover model?

Via CNN:



PREVIOUSLY: "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Launch Week 2016 (VIDEO)."

Plus, remember how hot Tiegs was back in the day?

Barbara Olson, Hell to Pay

Barbara Olson died on September 11th. She was aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which slammed into the Pentagon.

Here's her book, Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

That might be worth a quick read in the near future here, especially as Mrs. Clinton nears accession as her party's presidential nominee.

Hat Tip: Blazing Cat Fur, "The Trashing of Bill’s Accusers: What Did Hillary Do — And Why Did She Do It?"

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Launch Week 2016 (VIDEO)

Well, it's a babe-blogging publishing phenomenon, heh.

Watch:

Jackie Johnson's Saturday Forecast

I wasn't out much today, just to take my son to school.

It wasn't too hot though. I napped late this afternoon and was perfectly comfortable. But if it stays warm into March, perhaps we'll have already seen most of the rain and snow of the season.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich Endorses Bernie Sanders for President

He posted at Facebook, via Memeorandum, "I endorse Bernie Sanders for President of the United States":

I endorse Bernie Sanders for President of the United States. He’s leading a movement to reclaim America for the many, not the few. And such a political mobilization – a “political revolution,” as he puts it -- is the only means by which we can get the nation back from the moneyed interests that now control so much of our economy and democracy.

This extraordinary concentration of income, wealth, and political power at the very top imperils all else – our economy, our democracy, the revival of the American middle class, the prospects for the poor and for people of color, the necessity of slowing and reversing climate change, and a sensible foreign policy not influenced by the “military-industrial complex,” as President Dwight Eisenhower once called it. It is the fundamental prerequisite: We have little hope of achieving positive change on any front unless the American people are once again in control.

I have the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, and if she wins the Democratic primary I’ll work my heart out to help her become president. But I believe Bernie Sanders is the agent of change this nation so desperately needs.

And watch Reich's interview at CNN, "This campaign is 'almost unimaginable'." He shows grudging admiration for Donald Trump, simply because, like Sanders, Trump is mobilizing generations of the disaffected. It's an interesting segment.

Diamond and Silk, 'Stump for Trump' Gals: Marco Rubio 'Had a Gay Lifestyle in the Past...' (VIDEO)

Oh boy.

This video's way worth it just for the look on Carol Costello's face when the "Stump for Trump" gals report that they've Googled Marco Rubio's past and "he owes America and the gay community an apology."

At Mediaite, via Memeorandum, "The ‘Stump for Trump’ Girls Just Said on CNN That Marco Rubio Had ‘A Gay Lifestyle’."

And on YouTube, "Diamond & Silk : Marco Rubio Had a Gay Lifestyle in the Past."

Chris Christie Endorses Donald Trump, Latest Twist in Wild Republican Presidential Campaign (VIDEO)

From Maggie Haberman, at the New York Times, "Chris Christie Endorses Donald Trump and Calls Marco Rubio 'Desperate'" (via Memeorandum):

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey endorsed Donald J. Trump on Friday, a major turn in a wild race and one that gives the New York businessman a significant boost as he heads into the pivotal “Super Tuesday” contests.

Mr. Christie was a candidate for president himself until he came in sixth place in New Hampshire’s primary. Seeing his political career facing an abrupt conclusion after his failed presidential campaign, he expressed his anger Friday at Senator Marco Rubio, whom he was said to be upset with, blaming the “super PAC” backing the Florida senator for halting his momentum in New Hampshire with a string of slash-and-burn ads.

The endorsement came a day after Mr. Rubio, in a withering debate performance, turned his guns on Mr. Trump for the first time, and followed up with his attacks on Friday morning, calling Mr. Trump a “con artist.”

At Friday’s news conference announcing the endorsement, which was peppered with demeaning insults of Mr. Rubio by the two men, Mr. Christie repeatedly attacked Mr. Rubio, calling his behavior at the debate “desperate” and reflective of a “losing campaign.”

Mr. Trump welcomed the endorsement with warm praise for the New Jersey governor... 

More.

BONUS: CNN's video is here, "Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump."

And watch this Gretchen Carlson interview with the Weekly Standard's Michael Warren, "How Donald Trump's presser changed the media's narrative."