Lea Michele for Women's Health Magazine U.K.

Here, "EXCLUSIVE: Lea Michele Talks Selective Veganism, Body Confidence & Getting Naked."

Hat Tip: WWTDD, "Lea Michele Nude Body Honoring the Fallen."

More, at London's Daily Mail, "'I'm not perfect… but I love myself flaws and all': Fitness fan Lea Michele poses completely NAKED as she reveals her secrets to body confidence."

Clinton Retakes Lead Over Trump, 52 to 43 Percent in New CNN Poll (VIDEO)

Call me skeptical of that spread, to say the least.

According to CNN's methodology:

A total of 1,003 adults were interviewed by telephone nationwide by live interviewers calling both landline and cell phones. Among the entire sample, 28% described themselves as Democrats, 24% described themselves as Republicans, and 48% described themselves as independents or members of another party.

I suspect CNN's under-sampled Republicans. Gallup had 28 percent identifying as both Democrat and Republican just over a week ago, with 42 percent identifying as independent. And the NBC/SurveyMonkey poll for the same period had 33 percent Democrats and 29 percent Republicans, with 36 percent independent (and 1 percent undecided).

Here's CNN's write-up, "Post-convention poll: Clinton retakes lead over Trump."

Compare CNN's 52/43 percent to the L.A. Times Presidential Election Daybreak Poll, which tracks the same panel of 3,000 randomly selected respondents through November. Changes in the poll data reflect changes in the opinions among the respondents, not the opinion of a new sample of voters. As of last night, the Times has Trump up over Clinton, 46.2/42.1 percent.

Thus, according to the Times:

Because of the panel design, “we have the same people every time, so changes in the poll are really people changing their minds,” rather than the result of variations in who answers a particular survey, said Arie Kapteyn, the director of the USC Dornsife center, who pioneered the approach for the 2012 election while at Rand Corp.

The panel design typically shows less volatility than traditional polls. Four years ago, it proved more accurate than most other surveys in forecasting the election result, although “maybe that was beginner’s luck,” Kapteyn said.

So, again, as I've been saying, I expect the presidential horse race to even out in the weeks ahead, with Hillary Clinton enjoying a slight advantage in an average of presidential polls. Trump should be considered the underdog, and he's going to get hammered mercilessly by the left-wing press.

Democrats Are Using Khizr Khan to Advance the Cause of Global Islamic Jihad

Following-up from earlier, "Kizhr Khan Khantroversy Nontroversy."

From Robert Spencer, at FrontPage Magazine, "Khizr Khan, Servant of the Global Umma":

The mainstream media is wild with enthusiasm these days over Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim soldier, Humayun Khan, who was killed fighting in Iraq in 2004. Khizr Khan, brimming with self-righteous anger, spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where he delivered what the Washington Post dubbed a “brutal repudiation of Donald Trump.” Trump responded, elevating Khizr Khan to the status of full-fledged flavor-of-the-moment media celebrity. There’s just one catch: Khizr is using his son’s memory not to advance the cause of the United States, as his son apparently died trying to do, but to advance a quite different cause: that of the global umma.

The well-heeled and powerful backers of the global jihad – those who have enabled the Islamic State (ISIS), al-Qaeda, and other jihad groups to grow as powerful as they have today -- are enraged at Donald Trump. They are deeply worried by his call for a temporary moratorium on Muslim immigration into the United States, as that will make it much more difficult for jihadis to get into this country. They are anxious to stigmatize any and all resistance to jihad terror – and so, happily enough for them, is the Democratic Party, which has eagerly signed on to the longtime strategy employed by Islamic supremacist advocacy groups in the U.S., to demonize all effective measures against jihad terror as “bigoted” and “Islamophobic.”

So it was that Khizr Khan, in the full fury of his indignation at the DNC, trotted out a straw man, falsely claiming that Trump wanted to “ban us from this country.” Trump has said nothing about banning Muslim citizens of the U.S. from the country, only about a temporary moratorium on immigration from terror states. Even worse, all the effusive praise being showered on Khizr Khan in the last few days overlooks one central point: he is one man. His family is one family. There are no doubt many others like his, but this fact does not mean that there is no jihad, or that all Muslims in the U.S. are loyal citizens.

Khizr Khan is enraged at Donald Trump, but is Trump really the cause of his problem? Jihad terrorists, not Donald Trump or “Islamophobes,” killed his son in Iraq. And if Donald Trump or anyone else looks upon Muslims in the U.S. military with suspicion, it is with good reason: does any other demographic have as high a rate of treason as Muslims in the U.S. military? In 2003, a convert to Islam, Sgt. Hasan Akbar, murdered two of his commanding officers in Kuwait. In 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan murdered 13 Americans at Fort Hood.

Other than those attacks, a Muslim in the U.S. Navy discussed sniper attacks on military personnel. A Muslim U.S. naval engineer allegedly gave an Egyptian agent information on how to sink a U.S. carrier. In 2015, a Muslim National Guard soldier in Illinois planned an Islamic State jihad attack against a U.S. military base. Last February, a U.S. Army enlistee who vowed to “bring the Islamic State straight to your doorstep” pleaded guilty to attempting to detonate a car bomb at Fort Riley military base in Kansas. Just days ago, a U.S. Air Force veteran was convicted of trying to join the Islamic State.

Then there is the U.S. Muslim who gave the Islamic State U.S. military uniforms, combat boots, tactical gear, firearms accessories, and thousands in cash. Where are those uniforms now?

It is good that there are Muslims in the U.S. military who are loyal. But can we have a discussion about those who aren’t, and why they aren’t, and what can be done about it? Such a discussion is vitally necessary, but it wouldn’t serve the classic objective of the global umma, to increase the dar al-Islam (house of Islam) at the dar al-harb (house of war). Nor would an open discussion of Khan’s Sunday morning assertion on Meet the Press that terrorists “have nothing to do with Islam.”

We constantly are told this, but the repetition doesn’t make it true. In the first place, jihadis repeatedly make clear that they think what they’re doing has everything to do with Islam:

“Jihad was a way of life for the Pious Predecessors (Salaf-us-Salih), and the Prophet (SAWS) was a master of the Mujahideen and a model for fortunate inexperienced people. The total number of military excursions which he (SAWS) accompanied was 27. He himself fought in nine of these; namely Badr; Uhud, Al-Muraysi, The Trench, Qurayzah, Khaybar, The Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn and Taif . . . This means that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) used to go out on military expeditions or send out an army at least every two months.” — Abdullah Azzam, co-founder of al-Qaeda, Join the Caravan, p. 30

“If we follow the rules of interpretation developed from the classical science of Koranic interpretation, it is not possible to condemn terrorism in religious terms. It remains completely true to the classical rules in its evolution of sanctity for its own justification. This is where the secret of its theological strength lies.” — Egyptian scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

“Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of Jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims. Therefore, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion.” — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 defendants

“Allah on 480 occasions in the Holy Koran extols Muslims to wage jihad. We only fulfil God’s orders. Only jihad can bring peace to the world.” — Taliban terrorist Baitullah Mehsud

“Jihad, holy fighting in Allah’s course, with full force of numbers and weaponry, is given the utmost importance in Islam….By jihad, Islam is established….By abandoning jihad, may Allah protect us from that, Islam is destroyed, and Muslims go into inferior position, their honor is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligation and duty in Islam on every Muslim.” — Times Square car bomb terrorist Faisal Shahzad

“So step by step I became a religiously devout Muslim, Mujahid — meaning one who participates in jihad.” — Little Rock, Arkansas terrorist murderer Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad

“And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives, and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad.” — Texas terrorist bomber Khalid Aldawsari

All of these, of course, may be dismissed as “extremists,” although they were also all devout Muslims who were determined to follow their religion properly. And then there are the many passages of the Qur’an exhorting Muslims to commit acts of violence:

2:191-193: “And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them — such is the recompense of unbelievers, but if they give over, surely Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. Fight them, till there is no persecution and the religion is Allah’s; then if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers.”

4:89: “They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them; take not to yourselves any one of them as friend or helper.”

Still more.

Donald Trump: 'I'm Afraid the Election is Going to Be Rigged'

He's right to be worried.

I mean, two of the three fall debates are scheduled opposite NFL football games, wtf?

And how about the Kahntroversy nontroversy? Trump needs to ignore the attacks and keep hammering on the economy and Democrat Party corruption.

That's going to be the winning argument. The polls are going to fluctuate.

At WSJ:

Donald Trump: "I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged" https://t.co/XsXg1I12M2

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 1, 2016

#BlackLivesMatter Coalition Makes Demands, Wants Reparations for Slavery

Check out the title, heh: "A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice":

Black humanity and dignity requires black political will and power. In response to the sustained and increasingly visible violence against Black communities in the U.S. and globally, a collective of more than 50 organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country have come together with renewed energy and purpose to articulate a common vision and agenda. We are a collective that centers and is rooted in Black communities, but we recognize we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work.

"Collective liberation."

That's revolutionary rhetoric.

They're communists.



At AP, "Groups affiliated with Black Lives Matter release agenda":

The agenda outlines six demands and offers 40 recommendations on how to address them. To address criminal justice reform, for example, organizers are calling for an end to the type of militarized police presence seen at protests in cities like Ferguson, and the retroactive decriminalization and immediate release of all people convicted of drug offenses, sex work related offense and youth offenses.

The group also is calling for the passage of federal legislation, already proposed in Congress, that would create a commission to study reparations for descendants of slaves...

Angels Pick Up Ricky Nolasco from Twins in Trade for Hector Santiago

Well, I'm not that pleased.

Santiago's been pretty consistent of late, and I know he loved playing for the Angels. He's a patriot who'll be sorely missed.

And Nolasco? Is he any good? I have no idea.

At the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Twins trade Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer to Angels for Hector Santiago."

And the O.C. Register's Jeff Fletcher has some quick analysis on Twitter. The Angels look like they just wanted to do something before the trade deadline.

Santiago and busenitz to twins. Nolasco and Meyer reportedly back.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 1, 2016

On the Twins deal, Angels basically exchanged one back end starter for another back end starter, plus a 0-3 upside starter. Simple.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 1, 2016

Also, Nolasco has an option, so possibly one more year of control than Santiago.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 1, 2016

Confirmed Angels are getting cash from the Twins to cover the difference between Santiago and Nolasco's salaries, so no luxury tax hit in 16

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 1, 2016

If Angels had traded for Santiago for prospects only, they'd need to go get a "Nolasco type" on FA market just to fill rotation

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 1, 2016

Julian Assange: More #WikiLeaks Material on Hillary Campaign to Come (VIDEO)

At Blazing Cat Fur.

And Assange interviewed at CNN:

Monday Cartoons

I couldn't resist.

Theo's got a nice amalgamation, "Cartoon Round Up..."

Radical Extremists #tcothttps://t.co/wOkNydjUya
Like @ Facebk:https://t.co/WeX1G9jwDl
Book:https://t.co/eqyzRdz8nS pic.twitter.com/0cAdtBI5L3

— Michael Ramirez (@Ramireztoons) July 31, 2016

The Future of Freedom and Human Self-Determination Depends on Whether We Finally Kick You to the Curb Hard Enough So That You Can Never Get Up Again

From the irrepressible Mike at Cold Fury, "Defending the indefensible."

The global left always calls for more openness. More surrender of sovereignty. And more big government. Even the once-stalwartly "liberal" (classically liberal) Economist magazine has given up the ghost. It's dead to hard-left stultifying regressivism.

THE ECONOMIST 30J : The new political divide #Portada#EnPortada#Portadas#Mariano #Rajoy#FelizViernes pic.twitter.com/0ef3ZZS2Ld

— Gonzalo Semprún (@gsemprunmdg) July 28, 2016

Huh? Again? Now What's the Purpose for This?

Following-up from previously, "Now What's the Purpose for This?"

More unreal smear journalism, at the New York Post. They must be trolling for traffic and newsstand sales?

Here, "Ménage à Trump - Today's cover: Melania Trump's girl-on-girl photo shoot revealed."

Sordid is putting it mildly.

Kizhr Khan Khantroversy Nontroversy

I'm just waiting for this all to blow over.

Did Trump disrespect Khan's family? Perhaps. But it's only an issue because the leftist press seized on it to further demonize the Manhattan real estate mogul.

It's going to backfire. New polls show Hillary erasing Trump's polling bounce, which really isn't news as that was bound to happen in any case. The presidential horse race is going to even back out and we'll see a tight campaign in the weeks and months ahead. I still think Hillary's going to take it, but it's a weird election year. Voter anger and frustration is through the roof, and some of those battleground states --- especially Ohio and Florida --- may indeed end up going for Trump.

We'll see.

In any case, here's the mainstream media take at NYT, "Donald Trump’s Confrontation With Muslim Soldier’s Parents Emerges as Unexpected Flash Point."

And naturally Memeorandum's all over it, "Khizr Khan was tricked into smearing Donald Trump."

Plus, a Twitter roundup:

The muslim Who Attacked Trump Is A Muslim Brotherhood Agent.

Media Is Silent#MAGAhttps://t.co/djtTfJ2sbL pic.twitter.com/qPpQH3G3e3

— Phil (@phil200269) August 1, 2016

In clash between Trump and the Khans, new signs of a cultural and political divide https://t.co/mV4MRdsPj8

— Katie Zezima (@katiezez) August 1, 2016

MUST READ!! Take that you Sharia Law pushing Kahn Man! #VetsForTrump #MAGA #TrumpPence2016 https://t.co/8uHDgzzvBj

— (((Stella))) (@syoka68) August 1, 2016

#WhyICantLeaveTwitter because this is the only place we can expose the liberal media pic.twitter.com/T3q2VF8NXU

— Watch Clinton Cash (@JaredWyand) August 1, 2016

THIS https://t.co/Oh0zJQ7LiQ pic.twitter.com/Ynf2hBJdVA

— Ericka Andersen (@ErickaAndersen) August 1, 2016

I'm Not Getting an Eyebrow Tattoo

I've never thought of it, actually. But my wife's always bugging me about the gray hairs coming in on my eyebrows, and she breaks out the tweezers once in a while to boot, heh.

But getting them tattooed? An interesting hypothesis, I guess.

Not so for Bella Thorne. She went all in and shared the moment on social media.

Here, at London's Daily Mail, "Bella Thorne gets her EYEBROWS tattooed and shares it on Snapchat."

BONUS: "Beach babe! Bella Thorne strips down to a teeny weeny bikini as she poses for summer photos in new shoot for Galore."

Amber Lee's Hot and Muggy Forecast

It was almost 80 last night at Angel Stadium, and humid!

Here's Amber Lee with the forecast from Monday:

Another Great Day Spoiled by Huston Street (VIDEO)

I took my family to Anaheim Stadium last night to see the Red Sox at the Angels.

It was great. Albert Pujols had the clutch home run and the Angels hung on to win 5-2.

But it wasn't so great today. I like Huston Street a lot (or I used to like him), but he's had so many blown saves this year it's just out of control. He's always been a "finger-biting" closer, but I just can't watch him anymore. The Angels were up 3-0 in the ninth and Street walked one and gave up a base hit. He struck out the next two, then Mookie Betts drove in a run on an RBI single. Then Dustin Pedroia just smashed a bomb over the center-field fence. Not to be outdone, Xander Bogaerts came up and smashed another homer to make it 5-3. It was totally demoralizing.

Can the Angels just get another closer, please?

.@Angels, for the trading deadline, please, please offload #HustonStreet! Take a loss on the fucker. Anything. Sheesh. #Angels #RedSox

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) July 31, 2016

Another great day for Tyler Skaggs is spoiled by Huston Street. Angels lose 5-3. https://t.co/bSvGXiNqdF

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 31, 2016

Lady Gaga Denim Ensemble

She looks great!

At London's Daily Mail, "Lady Gaga reveals her slender figure in denim two-piece ensemble as she hits the studio after split from fiancé Taylor Kinney."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also, at Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco, "Hillary's Convention Speech."

Rania Khalek Interviews Seattle Socialist Kshama Sawant (VIDEO)

Lots of thoughts watching this interview.

For one thing, both of these women talk a freakin' mile a minute! It's kind of funny, especially since speaking that fast isn't necessary at all in a 15-minute interview for alternative media. Just slow down people, heh.

More substantially, though, would this lady Sawant, who's an out-and-out Marxist (I've blogged about her here), have supported Bernie Sanders as the Democrat Party nominee had he won the primaries? She's railing and railing against the two-party corporate hegemony of the Democrats and the Republicans, who represent the "ruling class," but had Sanders become the Democrat standard-bearer would that ideological principle have gone out the window at the moment of political opportunity? I mean, as it is Hillary's practically endorsing all the things Sawant's taking about --- single-payer health care, open-borders amnesty, anti-police "brutality" legislation, and what not. Never mind that Hillary's indeed beholden to Wall Street (corporate power is more and more leftist power these days, a sort of progressive corporatism). No, I expect it's not so much an "independent party" that Sawant all about. She wants a national political party to embrace the label of socialism unapologetically. The Democrats are almost there, actually. Their only roadblock to coming out full Marxist is the American people. Leftists still have to win elections. And when you start to over to flyover country the interests of the progressive urban elites are about as far away as you can get.

It's going to be interesting going forward, that's for sure. If Hillary wins Democrats will argue that Obama's election in '08 was the beginning of a long-term realignment founded on the coalition of transformation (minorities, younger people, and coastal elites). And she'll be emboldened to shed the mask of moderation and fully embrace the Alinskyite Marxism that's her true ideological pedigree.

More on this stuff throughout the campaign. As I always say, this elections about genuinely preserving the American republic. If the Democrats win, America's really going to see that fundamental transformation Obama promised. Hillary's going to be Obama's third term.

In any case, here's the interview:

.@RaniaKhalek interviewed socialist @CmKshama Sawant: Voting For the Lesser Evil Is What Brought Us Trumphttps://t.co/R3uXXChDcs

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) July 31, 2016

Switzerland Sees Gun Sales Soar

This one's get a lot of retweets.

Switzerland, land of peace, sees gun sales soar. That's not the narrative! https://t.co/CeYg7h0W1t @Instapundit @DLoesch

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) July 30, 2016

This is the Most Beautiful Thing

That's two babies.

A fawn and a toddler.

So beautiful. I could almost cry looking at that, considering everything else going on.

This kid saw a deer in the garden and didn't think twice to approach it.. pic.twitter.com/CdiQA2MpnT

— M Barak Cherguia (@CherguiaMbark) July 31, 2016

Now What's the Purpose for This?

Isn't there some last boundary of decency for this campaign?

Sheesh.

The New York Post goes with the full nudes of Donald Trump's wife Melania. But why? They need the clicks?

Here's the image of the cover photo on Twitter.

And at Memeorandum, "Donald Trump thinks his wife will be a model first lady — and here's the proof."