Post-2016 Progressive Trauma Center

It's hard out there for a leftist, lol.

From Ed Driscoll, "THIS TRAUMA CENTER THAT HELPS MILLENNIAL SNOWFLAKES ADJUST TO ADULT LIFE IS FASCINATING, HORRIFYING."

And Ed Snarks, "My father told me many tales of the Progressive transition center he attended as a young man in New Jersey [Fort Dix], after a rather prominent Hawaiian safe space zone was rudely violated in December of 1941. The cost of tuition was much cheaper, its methods a bit rougher in those less enlightened days, but the end results were surprisingly impressive."

Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom

Holiday gift ideas: Some civil rights books for under the tree!

At Amazon, Charles M. Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle.

Also, John Egerton, Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

And, Robert J. Norrell, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights Movement in Tuskegee.

More, Richard Kluger, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality.

BONUS: Mark Engler, This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century.

Barbara Palvin LOVE Advent 2016

Heh, Barbara Palvin's pretty risque, lol.

Kristen Keogh's Christmas

I was looking for Ms. Kristen's weather report, but it turns out she's busy enjoying the holidays, heh.

🙃 pic.twitter.com/0VkCBCECXy

— Kristen Keogh (@10NewsKeogh) December 9, 2016

Secret CIA Assessment Claims Russia Worked to Elect Donald Trump

The truth is, no one knows.

I haven't seen a shred of evidence to prove Russia was behind the hacking scandals, but that hasn't stopped the leftist establishment from attempting to delegitimize Trump's election.

Here's the salacious headline at WaPo, "Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House."

But like I said, there's no hard evidence. It's more "fake news," and Donald Trump denouncing it, rightly so.

The CIA outright says they “do not have specific intelligence” tying Russia to email leaks. Fake News on Steroids.https://t.co/gG6yn9kPHi

— Stefan Molyneux (@StefanMolyneux) December 10, 2016

#DonaldTrump bashes CIA, dismisses Russian hacking report. https://t.co/UDW7vcAlmH

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) December 10, 2016

More at Memeorandum.

Norman Ohler, Blitzed

Well, this certainly looks interesting.

From Norman Ohler, at Amazon (and out next April), Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich.

Amber Lee's Cool and Partly Cloudy Forecast

It's great football weather!

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

'A Word to the Criminal Migrant' — Heh, Pat Condell's on Fire!

Boy he's fired up, lol.

Geert Wilders Convicted of 'Hate Speech'

Well, perhaps Mr. Wilders might move here, after the new Trump regime comes to power. He'll have a nice welcome compared to "old Europe," the hateful Europe of far-left political correctness and oppression.

At the Guardian U.K., "Geert Wilders found guilty of inciting discrimination" (via Memeorandum).

And at Pamela's, "Islam in Europe: Freedom party’s Dutch MP Geert Wilders CONVICTED of heresy, WILDERS’ STATEMENT":

Freedom party leader Geert Wilders has been convicted of hate speech today in the Netherlands.

I have long known, admired and worked with Geert Wilders. I brought him to CPAC back in 2009. He spoke at our Ground Zero Mosque protests in 2010. He is one of the world’s foremost fighters in defense of liberty, a modern-day Churchill. He is a towering figure, iconic of the fight in defense of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience. We oppose jihad and sharia.

The unending persecution of Wilders is the byproduct of Islam in Europe. Today he was found guilty of discrimination — hate speech — in other words, violating the speech laws under the sharia (Islamic law).

I predict this will backfire and Geert Wilders will go on to be elected Prime Minister in the next election.

Here is Geert Wilders’ response to his conviction:

Dear friends, I still cannot believe it, but I have just been convicted. Because I asked a question about Moroccans. While the day before yesterday, scores of Moroccan asylum-seekers terrorized buses in Emmen and did not even had to pay a fine, a politician who asks a question about fewer Moroccans is sentenced.

The Netherlands have become a sick country. And I have a message for the judges who convicted me: You have restricted the freedom of speech of millions of Dutch and hence convicted everyone. No one trusts you anymore. But fortunately, truth and liberty are stronger than you. And so am I.

I will never be silent. You will not be able to stop me. And you are wrong, too. Moroccans are not a race, and people who criticize Moroccans are not racists. I am not a racist and neither are my voters. This sentence proves that you judges are completely out of touch.

And I have also a message for Prime Minister Rutte and the rest of the multicultural elite: You will not succeed in silencing me and defeating the PVV. Support for the Party for Freedom is stronger than ever, and keeps growing every day. The Dutch want their country back and cherish their freedom. It will not be possible to put the genie of positive change back in the bottle.

And to people at home I say: Freedom of speech is our pride. And this will remain so. For centuries, we Dutch have been speaking the unvarnished truth. Free speech is our most important possession. We will never let them take away our freedom of speech. Because the flame of freedom burns within us and cannot be extinguished.

Millions of Dutch are sick and tired of political correctness. Sick and tired of the elite which only cares about itself and ignores the ordinary Dutchman. And sells out our country. People no longer feel represented by all these disconnected politicians, judges and journalists, who have been harming our people for so long, and make our country weaker instead of stronger.

But I will keep fighting for you, and I tell all of you: thank you so much. Thank you so much for all your support. It is really overwhelming; I am immensely grateful to you. Thanks to your massive and heartfelt support, I know that I am not alone. That you back me, and are with me, and unwaveringly stand for freedom of expression.

Today, I was convicted in a political trial, which, shortly before the elections, attempts to neutralize the leader of the largest and most popular opposition party. But they will not succeed. Not even with this verdict. Because I speak on behalf of millions of Dutch. And the Netherlands are entitled to politicians who speak the truth, and honestly address the problems with Moroccans. Politicians who will not let themselves be silenced. Not even by the judges. And you can count on it: I will never be silent.

And this conviction only makes me stronger. This is a shameful sentence, which, of course, I will appeal. But I can tell you, I am now more vigorous than ever. And I know: together, we aim for victory.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, we are strong enough to change the Netherlands.

To allow our children to grow up in a country they can be proud of.
In a Netherlands where we are allowed to say again what we think.
Where everybody can safely walk the streets again.
Where we are in charge of our own country again.

And that is what we stand for. For freedom and for our beautiful Netherlands.

There's video at the link.

PHOTO: "Faith, Freedom, and Memory: Report From Ground Zero, September 11, 2010."

BONUS: "Geert Wilders' Right to Speak."

Rose McShane

Heh.

At the Other McCain, "‘This Is Why We Need Feminism’: @RoseMcShane Loves Male Tears."

Hmmm. pic.twitter.com/jcfXKMfeT1

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) December 10, 2016

Emily Ratajkowski LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

She's as hot as ever!

Jonathan Haidt, Can't We All Disagree More Constructively?

Here's a Kindle "Vintage Short" Edition, at Amazon, from Jonathan Haidt, Can't We All Disagree More Constructively?

As America descends deeper into polarization and paralysis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has done the seemingly impossible—he has explained the origins of morality, politics, and religion in a way that speaks to everyone on the political spectrum.

Drawing on twenty-five years of groundbreaking research, Haidt shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and why we need the insights of each if we are to flourish as a nation. Here is the key to understanding the miracle of human cooperation and the eternal curse of moralistic aggression, across the political divide and around the world.

The full volume is Haidt's, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

He's on Twitter as well.

Abbey Clancy LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

LOVE Advent has to be the coolest thing for babe blogging ever, heh.

Here's Ms. Abbey:

Donald Trump's Cabinet Picks Signal Coming Deregulation Moves

Well, the Scott Pruitt pick for the E.P.A. sends a particularly strong signal on deregulation.

And now with the nomination CKE CEO Andy Puzder, expect some serious calls to roll back onerous governmental bureaucracy.

Leftists are going to be wiggin'.

At WSJ, "Donald Trump’s Cabinet Selections Signal Deregulation Moves Are Coming":

Business leaders are predicting a dramatic unraveling of regulations on everything from overtime pay to power-plant emission rules as Donald Trump seeks to fill his cabinet with determined adversaries of the agencies they will lead.

The president-elect’s pick Thursday to head the Labor Department, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, is an outspoken critic of the worker-pay policies advanced by the Obama administration. Mr. Trump’s choice for the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, is a primary architect of legal challenges on President Barack Obama’s environmental regulations.

Other cabinet nominees critical of regulations advanced under Mr. Obama include Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, financier Wilbur Ross Jr. at the Commerce Department and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. All will require Senate confirmation.

Those picks suggest the Trump administration, backed by a Republican Congress, is determined to advance labor, environmental and financial regulatory policies more favorable to many American corporations, though not all will back his proposals.

Appearing in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday as part of his postelection “thank you” tour, Mr. Trump said he will push to do away with regulations that are crimping job growth. “On regulations, we’re going to eliminate every single regulation that hurts our farms, our workers and our small businesses,” he said.

Business leaders say all Americans stand to benefit from a lighter regulatory touch that would boost profits, growth and hiring, particularly for small and midsize businesses.

“If government can stimulate business to hire more, rather than vilify us, that’s going to be a better milieu,” said Andrew Berlin, CEO of Chicago-based Berlin Packaging LLC, which makes glass and plastic bottles for consumer products.

“The continual onslaught of regulation over the last eight years—that probably has been pretty much our No. 1, overall concern as manufacturers,” said Jason Andringa, CEO of the Vermeer Corp., a Pella, Iowa-based maker of construction and farm machinery. “That there may be some relief from that is very appealing to us.”

Mr. Andringa said mounting Obama-era regulations have drained the time of several employees dedicated to complying with them. That has eaten into profits, despite overall rising sales in recent years. But the company has’t resorted to layoffs in more than a decade, he added.

Mr. Andringa said he does have reservations about Mr. Trump’s trade policies because Vermeer exports around one-fifth of the equipment it makes in Iowa. “We certainly hope not to see tariffs that are implemented here that then cause corresponding tariffs overseas,” he said.

While a push to freeze and rollback new regulations could cheer some CEOs, Mr. Trump’s relationship with the business community has had plenty of rough spots. Throughout the campaign he threatened to impose taxes on companies that moved jobs overseas. He lambasted big banks and multinational corporations in a campaign video that ascribed dark motives to the forces of globalism.

Mr. Trump also has taken to Twitter since the election to confront individual businesses and labor leaders by name over specific disputes, a tactic some economists warn could amplify corporate uncertainty around his policies...

More.

Hollywood Faces Identity Crisis After Donald Trump's Election

I don't expect much to change.

When I took my young son to see "Hell or High Water" a few months back, I remarked as the film ended how it was mostly older white patrons exiting the theater. Those movie-goers wanted to enjoy something other than the far-left fare of Hollywood's politically-correct, identity-obsessed culture mavens.

"Hell or High Water" is mentioned at this piece as perhaps the kind of content of which Hollywood should be producing more frequently.

At LAT, "From panic to possibility: A reeling entertainment industry regroups after Trump's win":

Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, the executive producer of the CW series “Jane the Virgin” decided to make a few changes: She nixed the Ivanka Trump shoes from wardrobe and urged the show’s writers to make a key character zealous about registering Latinos to vote.

Trump’s victory is redrawing many narratives and story lines across the country, including those at the center of the entertainment industry. In addition to the new activism and footwear, “Jane the Virgin,” a family saga of a young Latina in Miami, will be recalibrated in other ways to address America’s unsettling cultural and political climate.

“The writers and I talked about it a lot, about how we should and can approach it most effectively within our storytelling,” said creator and showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman. “I think our show has to live in this world.”

Those sentiments echo across town. Trump may be a colossus of Hollywood’s own making— it was “The Apprentice,” not real estate, that made him a household name — but his defeat of Hillary Clinton was a stinging repudiation of the political correctness, diversity and liberalism celebrated by much of the entertainment business at a time of bitter argument over the nation’s ideals.

The question now is how will Hollywood, which for years has nudged gay rights and other contentious social issues into the mainstream, speak to Trump’s agitated, disillusioned and God-fearing rural America. Will we see more insightful TV shows about working-class lives, such as the 1990s hit “Roseanne”, or will we encounter an uptick in artistic defiance, as when the cast of “Hamilton” recently briefed Vice-president-elect Mike Pence on multi-culturalism?

Trump’s furious response to that incident could provoke a chilling effect, but conversations with Hollywood creators suggest they will remain resolute in advancing civil rights and artistic freedom while also moving toward programming that seeks common ground. A top ABC executive acknowledged last week that the network could do more to illuminate working-class lives.

“With our dramas, we have a lot of shows that feature very well-to-do, very well-educated people…. They all drive very nice cars and live in extremely nice places,” Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, was quoted as saying at a media summit in London. “We have not, in recent history, paid enough attention to some of the true realities of what life is like in a day-in and day-out way for everyday Americans in some of our dramas.”

Even more than the drawn-out contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore, this election has left America in the clamor of a culturally defining moment, much like the tumult of the 1960s and the insecure, rattled aftermath of 9/11. Trump’s rightist leanings and nationalist populism, and the angry anxiety they have provoked, will likely influence many of our films, books, songs, social media musings and even the images we hold up as emblematic of our times.

This catharsis over the country’s cultural divide is unfolding even as the media landscape and the power of Hollywood celebrity have been splintered; streaming and platforms such as Netflix and Hulu have made our entertainment pathways and content more vast and diffuse than at any time in our history. A former reality-TV star, Trump’s mastery of Twitter shows how cultural and political narratives, from jingoism to veiled racism, can be targeted and refined to rally audiences in an increasingly us-versus-them atmosphere.

 “It’s a turbulent, unsafe time for most of us in this country,” said Sadie Dupuis, songwriter for the indie band Speedy Ortiz. Dupuis, whose new solo album “Slugger” focuses on empowering feminist themes, will be one of many musicians attending the women’s march in Washington planned for the day after Trump’s inauguration. “What art will take shape will depend on what happens in his presidency,” she added. “He is appointing white supremacists to his Cabinet.”

Trump’s election was a gut punch to a liberal Hollywood that had backed Clinton. Chelsea Handler teared up on her Netflix talk show. Aaron Sorkin wrote a public letter to his 15-year-old daughter that stressed getting involved to fight injustice.“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah self-medicated during the show’s election-night broadcast with Pepto-Bismol and sobering humor: “This is it, the end of the presidential race, and it feels like the end of the world,” Noah said. “We are going to be making jokes tonight, but I am very much afraid.”

The mixed emotions even prompted unexpected disclosures: Kanye West drew boos at a San Jose concert after revealing that if he had voted in this year’s election (he said he didn’t), he would have chosen Trump — commending the president-elect’s politically incorrect command of social media as a way of galvanizing his constituency. (His comments prefaced a breakdown that led to the cancellation of his tour and his hospitalization.)  Such revelations along with scripts, lyrics and plays will factor into how the cultural map will be redrawn during Trump’s administration.

And this is not only an American cultural moment. The world is reverberating with economic anxiety and racist and anti-immigrant fervor, marked by Britain’s impending break from the European Union and the ascent of right-wing parties and nationalist voices from France to the Philippines. Such forces will challenge Hollywood, where more than 70% of the box office comes from overseas, to tap into the complicated story lines of a planet that may not so easily embrace the simple heroics of a Marvel blockbuster.

The fear of “the other” that Trump leveraged during his campaign is starting to reshape certain story lines. Like “Jane the Virgin,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” the ABC comedy about an Asian American immigrant family, recently took on immigration, in this case against the backdrop of the 1996 race between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Viewers learn that Jessica Huang, the matriarch of the family played by Constance Wu, has a green card, but she never applied for U.S. citizenship because she felt intimidated by the process.

“With the results of the election, it just sort of confirmed to us that this is a dialogue that needs to happen,” said executive producer Nahnatchka Khan, who plans to continue lacing the comedy with current themes. “These are issues that, even though the show takes place 20 years ago, are still so relevant — even more so now, with the heightened level of fear and anxiety that people are feeling.”

She added: “You can either retreat and cower away from tackling those issues or you can embrace it. I think we’re going to see a lot of art trending toward not being afraid.”

Cinema and television may be overpopulated by upwardly mobile urban professionals, but sympathetic portrayals of the white middle and working classes fuel shows such as ABC’s “The Middle”, a sitcom about an Indiana family, and this year’s “Hell or High Water,” a film that touches on financial hardship and despair in west Texas. Finding the right blend of such stories will be crucial in coming years if specific narratives on culture and class can extend beyond the typical Hollywood fare to find universal resonance...

You can say that again.

Keep reading.

Shop Christmas Toys

At Amazon, Holiday Toy List.

And thanks to everyone who's been shopping though my Amazon links. It's greatly appreciated. I'm getting ready to splurge on my next round of book orders, heh.

BONUS: Gordon Prange, At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (60th Anniversary Edition Edition).

Dennis Prager: America is in Jeopardy (VIDEO)

I love Dennis Prager.

I met him briefly at the David Horowitz West Coast Retreat in 2011.

I missed the 2016 PragerU Dinner, however. I'm sure that'd be a treat.

But don't miss Prager's outstanding book, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.

'Starboy'

Is there any wonder why youth culture's so crass nowadays?

I mean, I actually like the song, but the chorus goes, "I'ma mother-fuckin' starboy..."

Such casual profanity. But I guess it's pretty much always been like that, when you think about it. At least since the 1960s. Once you get away from prime-time television, and such, profanity is de rigueur.

Viewer caution on the opening scene at the video, which is pretty intense, considering it's pop music.

And see the Vigilant Citizen, "The Occult Meaning of the Weeknd’s “Starboy”."

Also, at the Bustle, "What Does the Weeknd's 'Starboy' Music Video Mean? There Are a Lot of Images to Comb Through — VIDEO."

Creative Loved Ones Lost to Oakland's 'Ghost Ship' Fire

At the Los Angeles Times, "Artists, college students, music lovers lost to the Oakland warehouse fire":

Artists, college students, music lovers lost to the Oakland warehouse fire https://t.co/Wf6npvV2MY

— L.A. Times: L.A. Now (@LANow) December 6, 2016

Em Bohlka was a poet with a master’s degree in literature who could quote Kurt Vonnegut. Donna Kellogg played the drums and inspired peers with her culinary skills. Feral Pines was a recent Oakland arrival, a bass guitarist, a good listener.

They were artists with day jobs, young creatives living off the grid, students dreaming of unconventional paths — at least 36, all taken by fire.

On Monday their names were scrawled on notes left at memorials that bloomed where flames had ravaged an Oakland warehouse. “Travis, we already miss you.” “Thinking of you, Ara Jo.” “Draven, you weren’t the smartest or the funniest or the bravest. That’s probably why we were best friends.”

Once a bastion of hippies and independent artists, the Bay Area in recent years has been dominated by techies and those with deep pockets who can afford the outrageous rents.

But the Oakland fire ripped through a close-knit community of artists ensconced in an underground music scene and committed to staying in the area. Their makeshift homes, their counterculture social scene, existed in a world invisible to those not searching for it.

It was where they felt accepted and safe.

“It’s an interesting group of people that all come together around the craft of electronic music and digital art,” said Josette Melchor, founder of a San Francisco-based arts nonprofit, who knew many of the victims.

“People have been doing this for decades and have been part of this community for so long. We’re not just talking about a rave, it’s really a group of close people that see each other almost every weekend, just kind of gathering around the creation of their own music.”

Melchor’s organization, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, was inundated with calls after the fire from people looking for any way to help. In response, it established a fund for the families of victims, which had reached more than $300,000 by Monday night.

They had gathered Friday at a concert whose location, until the last minute, remained a mystery. Then came the name on social media, shortly before the doors opened: the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland.

Cash Askew had looked forward to what was to be a gathering of like-minded artists and musicians, many of them “queer femmes.”

A transgender woman, Askew had grown up around independent musicians and it was no surprise when she began to perform. The 22-year-old played in the goth-pop duo Them Are Us Too, which recently released its first LP and had been on tour.

“Everybody just saw this star, just saw this shooting star in her,” said Madigan Shive, a fellow musician who had known Askew for more than a decade.

Askew was accustomed to alternative venues. They felt protected, judgment-free.

“We came to those places and those spaces to share music that was often looked at as strange or esoteric,” said Askew’s girlfriend, Anya Taylor, a performance artist. “A lot of us are people who know music and we’ve been outcast because of who we are. We were making music for us.”

When Askew headed to the Ghost Ship, Taylor stayed behind because of work the next day. “Have fun,” she said. “Be safe.”

News of the fire sent the 23-year-old rushing to the warehouse, where flames had overtaken the building. For four hours, Taylor stood outside.

“I watched the building burn, and I lost the love of my life,” she said...

Keep reading.

Plus, "Building inspectors had not been inside Oakland warehouse in 30 years, officials say."

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt Picked to Head Environmental Protection Agency (VIDEO)

God what a great pick!

At USA Today, "Scott Pruitt: Trump's pick to lead the EPA," and "Trump's choice to lead EPA has a history with the agency."

Also at NYT, "Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Climate Change Denialist, to Lead E.P.A." (via Memeorandum).