Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth

Recommended by Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel (more on that later today).

At Amazon, Edward O. Wilson, Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life.

Alessandra Ambrosio LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

As longtime readers will recall, Ms. Alessandra's always been a favorite.

Here she is in the latest installment:

Deal of the Day: Tonicstar Wireless Optical Mouse for Computer

At Amazon, Tonicstar Wireless Mouse 2.4G USB Optical Mouse for Computer Black.

Plus, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - Black.

BONUS: Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power.

The Left's Political Intimidation of the Electoral College Fails

A must-read editorial, at WSJ, "Hamilton’s Electors Vote Trump":

While Monday’s final tally wasn’t known when we went to press, the count was headed toward 304 for Mr. Trump, with two dissenting GOP electors from Texas.

It is nonetheless worth noting the extraordinary lengths that Democrats and the progressive media have gone to attempt to lobby electors to vote for Hillary Clinton or a Republican alternative. “Electors under siege,” said a headline in Politico, reporting that many “have been inundated by harassing phone calls and hate mail,” even “death threats.”

So much for the calm deliberation that progressives claim to want as they lobbied electors under the rubric of Hamilton’s Electors. The spectacle of the last month has been an exercise in political intimidation, precisely the kind of pressure politics that Alexander Hamilton wanted an Electoral College to protect the country from. There’s a case for independent judgment by electors, but only in extraordinary circumstances—such as learning something new and disqualifying about a candidate....

The larger cynicism at work is the continuing attempt to undermine Mr. Trump’s democratic legitimacy. First Democrats tried a recount, which failed when the Republican gained votes in Wisconsin. Then they turned to the Electoral College, whose vote won’t technically be official until the new Congress certifies the result in January. Look for Democrats to make speeches before the vote questioning Mr. Trump’s authority to be President.

Then there are the charges that Vladimir Putin elected Mr. Trump. Mr. Podesta—perhaps still trying to purge his conscience for not campaigning in Wisconsin—even suggested on Sunday that “Trump Inc.” advisers colluded with the Russians to hack Democratic emails. That would be some story, though we’ll wait for evidence. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump will be President, but he shouldn’t anticipate a honeymoon.

It's not Donald Trump who's raising the specter of fascism in America, it's the Democrats and the radical left. We've been witnessing it since the voters repudiated Hillary Clinton on election day.

Brazilian Model Ana Braga Christmas Celebration

She's definitely in the Christmas spirit, heh.

At WWTDD, "Ana Braga Celebrates Christmas."

Last-Minute Deals in Tools and Home Improvement

I want to thank everyone once again for shopping through my Amazon links.

It's been a great season for Amazon blogging!

Thanks so much.

And keep shopping, here, Featured Holiday Deals in Tools and Home Improvement.

Plus, Gold Box Deals on Makita Power Tools.

More in Last-Minute Deals.

BONUS: Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.

Kim McKinney Cohen's 'Primal Scream' Against the Democrat Party

Heh.

I love that, "primal scream."

At Politico, "‘It Was My Primal Scream’: A lifelong progressive was so disgusted with her party, she voted for Trump. Will Democrats care enough to win her back?":

Three weeks before Election Day, as she sat at her kitchen table to fill out her ballot, Kim McKinney Cohen was angry and fed up. The Democratic Party, to which she had been unswervingly loyal for four decades, had sabotaged her chosen candidate, Bernie Sanders, and then lectured her about the need to vote for a woman whose hawkishness and arrogance rubbed her the wrong way. When Hillary Clinton said dismissively supporters of Donald Trump were “a basket of deplorables,” Cohen had heard enough.

“Well, then,” she sighed, "I guess I'm a deplorable.”

Keep reading.

Obama, Now You Want to Be a Cowboy?!!

Watch, a righteous Tomi Lahren, "7 years later, Obama wants to be a cowboy . Convenient. I have some Final Thoughts."

Richard Haass, A World in Disarray [BUMPED]

This looks excellent, particularly in that Richard Haass is no hard-right neocon.

He's an establishment centrist.

And it's Obama's disarray.

At Amazon, A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order.

Lou Dobbs on the State of the Democrat Party (VIDEO)

Yeah, Lou Dobbs the man!

His rants against illegal immigration cost him his job at CNN, but he's riding high now on Fox Business News, and he's basking in the political power of the Trump movement.

The radical left has been reduced to irrelevance, and the radical left is frankly the establishment Democrat Party. They haven't learned the lessons of the election, and their chances of returning to power looks smaller as each day goes by.

A great clip:

Fall of Aleppo is Huge Gift to Islamic State

From Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, at the Daily Beast, "The Fall of Aleppo is a Huge Gift to ISIS":

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the “Caliph Ibrahim” of the so-called Islamic State, had an excellent week last week.

The fall of Aleppo to a consortium of Iranian-built militias backed by Russian airpower and special forces constitutes not only a loud victory for Damascus but also a quieter one for ISIS, or the Islamic State, which mounted a surprise attack that retook the ancient city of Palmyra.

The contrast could not have been starker or a more clear vindication of one of ISIS’s longest-running propaganda tropes: the “infidels” and “apostates” will do nothing to save Sunni Arabs from the pillage, rape, and barrel bombs of the Russians, Alawites, and Shia. But Aleppo’s fall also buttresses one of the lesser-scrutinized claims made by ISIS’s former spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, shortly before his demise.

In May, months before he was taken out by a U.S. airstrike, Adnani issued what would turn out to be a final communiqué refuting a common Sunni criticism of ISIS, namely that the group’s takeover of Sunni towns and cities invariably brought only devastation. See Fallujah and Ramadi. For Adnani, however, such devastation was never the fault of ISIS, as rival jihadist enterprises had discovered at their peril.

“If we knew that any of the righteous predecessors surrendered a span of land to the infidels, using the claim of popular support or to save buildings from being destroyed or to prevent bloodshed, or any other alleged interest,” he said, “we would have done the same as the Qa’idah of the Fool of the so-called Ummah.” Only steadfastness, even in the face of overwhelming odds, would restore Sunni dignity.

Thanks to Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—not to say Barack Obama—Adnani now gets to play the posthumous prophet. Rather than die fighting for Aleppo, the Free Syrian Army (and its Western backers), plus rival Islamist or jihadist groups such the Syrian al Qaeda franchise Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, negotiated the terms of their surrender through a series of failed and humiliating “ceasefires” and evacuations, which are in fact forced population transfers. And Aleppo was still pulverized.

The loss will be compounded by the sectarian context. Aleppo fell to what Der Spiegel correspondent Christoph Reuter once aptly called the “first international Shia jihad in recent history,” led by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and relying largely on a patchwork of guerrilla fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Iraq. This is precisely what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian founding father of ISIS, wanted. He once described the Shia as “the insurmountable obstacle, the prowling serpent, the crafty, evil scorpion, the enemy lying in wait, and biting poison… Whoever takes the time to look carefully at the situation will realize that Shiism is the greater danger threatening us and the real challenge we must confront.” And the only way to confront this enemy in Iraq was to render Sunnis hopeless that anyone else would, by attacking the Shia so that the Shia took revenge by attacking the outnumbered Sunnis.

In Syria, the Zarqawi thesis is even more relevant, as the country is a Sunni majority one and is now subject to occupation by a minority. And as bad as the physical collapse of the symbolic citadel of Syria’s revolution is, worse still is the chauvinist triumphalism attending it, which plays directly into the Zarqawi strategy.

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, one of the Iraqi militias which the United Nations accused of murdering 85 civilians, including women and children, broadcast a song on an affiliated Iraqi TV channel. “Aleppo is Shia,” it ran. In his Friday sermon, delivered in Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani declared the “liberation” of the city from “infidels”—using more or less the same language of sectarian incitement that ISIS reserves for the Kashani’s coreligionists. In this case, the cleric was declaring all 150,000 Sunnis who’d been besieged for months in East Aleppo, and now driven from their homes, godless. Even he must be aware of the lasting repercussions of such imprecations.

Rhetorical provocation has also been met by the visual kind. Images circulating on social media to show Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s spymaster and head of the expeditionary Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, treading the rubble in Aleppo in an unmistakable show of who was really responsible for the siege and recapture. (Bashar al-Assad, the nominal sovereign of “all of Syria,” is nowhere to be seen on this hollowed-out and Iranian-occupied battlefield.) Any of these photographs could easily grace the forthcoming issue of Rumiyah, ISIS’s propaganda magazine...

Keep reading.

The idea is that the Sunnis will be so heavily wiped out that they'll rise up and join arms with the most murderous thugs of Islamic State. That's why the fall of Aleppo's a gift to ISIS.

Berlin Terrorist Attack Aftermath (VIDEO)

It's Paul Joseph Watson, via Small Dead Animals:

Berlin Attack Suspect Still at Large; Police Admit Wrong Man in Custody (VIDEO)

Well, how do you say FUBAR in German?

At the Telegraph U.K., "Live - Berlin terror attack Perpetrator 'still at large and has a weapon' as police admit they may have wrong man in custody after arresting asylum seeker":

German police have said they may have arrested the wrong man over the Berlin terror attack, and the real culprit could still be at large and armed and dangerous.

"We must get used to the idea that he was possibly not the perpetrator or that he didn't belong to the group of perpetrators," Germany's chief prosecutor Peter Frank told a press conference.

Police urged people to remain "particularly vigilant" and to report "suspicious movement" to a special hotline.

"We have the wrong man," an unnamed police source told Welt newspaper. "This means the situation is different. The real culprit is still armed and can commit further atrocities."

The man arrested on Monday night under suspicion of ploughing a 7-tonne truck through a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12, was named in German media reports as Naved Baluch, a 23-year-old asylum seeker of Pakistani origin.

Baluch has denied involvement in the attack, according to police.

He was picked up about 2 kilometres (1½ miles) away from the scene of the attack, near the Victory Column monument.

At least 48 were injured, some seriously, in the attack, after the vehicle mounted the pavement at about 40mph and crashed into them.

A passenger in the lorry – believed to be the original driver – was later found dead inside. German authorities confirmed that the passenger was a Polish national and that he was not the person in control of the vehicle, which belonged to a Polish delivery company, at the time of the crash...

More.

They won't catch him. They won't catch the suspect. The dude will sink and blend in with the local Islamic community. They'll plan more attacks.

Oh boy Merkel screwed the pooch.

Los Angeles City and County Governments Pledge $5 Million to Illegal Alien Defense Fund

This isn't right.

I'm not against a legal defense fund. I just don't think local government should be paying for it.

Expect a backlash, that's for sure.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Responding to Trump, L.A. proposes $10-million legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation":

Los Angeles city and county leaders on Monday unveiled a $10-million fund to provide legal assistance for residents facing deportation, the region’s boldest move yet as it prepares for an expected crackdown on illegal immigration by Donald Trump.

If approved by lawmakers, Los Angeles’ two top government agencies could find themselves in the position of using public funds to challenge policies sought by the White House and Republican Congress.

The fund represents another provocative pushback against the Trump agenda in heavily Democratic California, but outside legal experts said the local government agencies are likely within their right to use the money for these purposes.

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said the fund will ensure that there is “more fairness and more effectiveness in the immigration system.” He cited statistics showing that immigrants who have representation have a better chance at succeeding in court.

Still, some anti-illegal immigration activists criticized the move, saying it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars and interferes with the federal government’s immigration policies.

L.A. officials “should be focused on assisting the citizens, [not] taking tax dollars to pay for services to assist illegal residents countywide,” said Robin Hvidston, executive director of We the People Rising, a Claremont-based organization against illegal immigration. The money, she added, would be better spent on unemployed citizens, veterans, disabled and the elderly.

L.A. Justice Fund would receive at least $5 million total from city and county government. Philanthropic groups would donate the rest of the money. The California Endowment, the state’s largest private healthcare foundation, plans to give the fund $2 million, according to a foundation spokeswoman.

The legal fund, aimed at helping immigrants who can’t afford attorneys, follows similar efforts at the state and national level to provide protections for migrants...

Almost Half of U.S. Voters Not Sure Russia's Behind Election-Related Hacks

Makes sense.

No one's seen any actual evidence of Russian hacking.

See Morning Consult (at Memeorandum):

Almost half of Americans do not agree with the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that the Russian government was behind cyberattacks on the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, according to a new Morning Consult/POLITICO survey.

When asked to pick the statement that most aligned with their views, 46 percent of respondents chose one that said the U.S. can’t be sure who is primarily responsible for the hacking because tracing cyberattacks is complicated and because intelligence groups were wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In contrast, 29 percent chose the statement that said there was “near certainty” that Russia is responsible for hacking and that intelligence agencies had used advanced techniques to determine that the former Cold War adversary is responsible. A quarter said they didn’t know or had no opinion...

Well, the public's perfectly reasonable about thing. Leftists not so much.

Still more.

Suspect in Berlin Christmas Market Attack Was Refugee - UPDATE

UPDATE: "Berlin Attack Suspect Still at Large; Police Admit Wrong Man in Custody (VIDEO)."

The death toll has risen to twelve, and reports indicate the suspect was a refugee from Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Oh boy, Merkel's in a world of human refuse.

At Fox News, "Suspect in Berlin Christmas market attack came to Germany as refugee, reports say."

Also at Blazing Cat Fur, "Let’s Not Jump to Conclusions… #Berlin." And Pamela's, "Berlin Jihad Truck Attacker was Pakistani REFUGEE."

Previously, "At Least Nine Dead as Truck Plows Through Berlin Christmas Market (VIDEO)."

Deal of the Day: Intex Comfort Plush Queen Airbed

At Amazon, Intex Comfort Plush Elevated Dura-Beam Airbed, Bed Height 18", Queen.

Also, Logitech Harmony Ultimate All in One Remote with Customizable Touch Screen and Closed Cabinet RF Control, Works with Alexa - Black.

And, Save on Bushnell Best Sellers. More, Bushnell Michael Waddell Bone Collector Edition 4x 21mm Laser Rangefinder, Realtree Xtra Camo.

Plus, Up to 60% Off Holiday Gifts from Anne Klein. More, Anne Klein Women's AK/2390BKGB Diamond-Accented Gold-Tone and Black Ceramic Bracelet Watch.

BONUS: Tara Ross, Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College.

More Stella Maxwell LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

Here's the previous video, "Stella Maxwell LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)."

She's worth an encore, heh.

Donald Trump Seals His Election in the Electoral College (VIDEO)

The biggest drama surrounding this whole thing is how the far-left has sought to destroy and delegitimize the process. It's never been disrupted like this.

But Trump's sealed his election with the vote today around the nation.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump officially gets 270th electoral vote, sealing his election as president."



And at the Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Wins Enough Electoral Votes to Become President."

And this is actually hilarious:

Monday’s Electoral College proceedings drew a record number of votes for candidates other than Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton. That reflected the lingering deep divisions within the country that played out during an election season in which Mr. Trump won more electoral votes, but trailed Mrs. Clinton in the popular vote. At least seven electors defied the will of the voters in their states—a number not seen in roughly a century and a half.

Two Texas Republican electors cast ballots for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul. On the Democratic side, four Washington state electors refused to cast ballots for Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine. Three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, while one cast a ballot for Native American activist Faith Spotted Eagle. In Hawaii, one Democratic elector also cast a ballot for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In the vice-presidential vote, the Washington vote was even more unusual, with electors casting votes for a trio of female U.S. senators: Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Maria Cantwell of Washington, as well as Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine. Another elector cast a ballot for Winona LaDuke, an environmental activist. One Texas Republican voted for former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on the vice-presidential ballot. Another Hawaii elector also voted for Ms. Warren.

Several other attempts by electors to cast ballots for alternative candidates were unsuccessful. Democratic electors in Colorado and Maine tried to cast votes for Mr. Sanders. In Maine, the elector was ordered to vote again, while in Colorado the elector was replaced with an alternate...

Still more.

Soner Cagaptay, The New Sultan

From Soner Cagaptay, a Turkish-American political scientist based in Washington, The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey.