Theodore Draper, A Struggle for Power

At Amazon, Theodore Draper, A Struggle for Power: The American Revolution.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco, "The Shadow Knows."

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

*BUMPED.*

I picked up a copy.

Dunbar-Ortiz gets right into "settler colonialism," starting on page 2 of the "Introduction."

She really hates the U.S.

Know your enemies, people. Books like this have a lot of influence.

At Amazon, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States.

New Michael Brown Video Prompts Massive Round of Fake News

This is so stupid. Even Obama's own Justice Department couldn't exonerate the thug Mike Brown.

At NYT, via Memeorandum, "New Ferguson Video Adds Wrinkle to Michael Brown Case."

And at Conservative Treehouse, "CNN Tries Another Michael Brown Con Job – Everything About The “New” Mike Brown Video is Fraud Here’s Proof…," and from Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "NO. NEXT QUESTION? DOES NEW VIDEO IN THE MICHAEL BROWN CASE CHANGE ANYTHING?"

Still more, at Gateway Pundit, "VERY FAKE NEWS: CNN Releases New Mike Brown Video at Convenience Store – Suggests It’s From Day of Shooting."

The Glory of Rhian Sugden

At the Sun U.K., "Spend some time drinking in the glory that is @RhianMarie."

Also, "NEW CBB LINE-UP: Former Page 3 girl Rhian Sugden to be part of most explosive Celebrity Big Brother ever as O.J. Simpson and Peru drug mules ‘join the line-up’ — Model is set to have some VERY interesting housemates."

Rhian Sugden joins the line up of the most explosive #CBB series ever https://t.co/OtmqwvhalW pic.twitter.com/3JhIBrtMGA

— The Sun (@TheSun) March 12, 2017

Far-Right Surge in the Far-Left Netherlands

As you know, I don't think populist nationalist parties are "far-right," but WaPo insists on the terminology, despite the support for Geert Wilders' insurgent parliamentary campaign among people we'd normally call center-left.

A great piece, surprisingly.

At the Washington Post:

Anti-immigrant anger threatens to remake the liberal Netherlands https://t.co/5OvIlBfutY

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 12, 2017

Internet Addiction Resistance

Following-up, "Adam Alter, Irresistible."

Here's a great piece, with the reference to the book, from Ross Douthat:

My Sunday column: Resist the Internet:https://t.co/BNR0FYxWpQ

— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) March 12, 2017

Fabulous Pic Dump

He doesn't do these so much anymore, and thus a rare thing to behold.

At Theo's, "Pic Dump..."

Here's Owen Wister, The Virginian, in Mass-Market Paperback

I posted Owen Wister's book the other day, but at the time I didn't see the Signet mass-market paperback edition that's available.

Here, Owen Wister, The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (Signet Classics).

And it turns out Zane Grey had read Owen Wister to study the format of the Western novel. Here's my previous entry, "Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage."

(I'm not a Western fiction fanboy, so this is new information to me. I do love it, though.)

Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage

Amazing.

This book's over 100 years old and still in print.

At Amazon, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage.

Disney Now Provides Training to Help Young Stars Avoid Scandals

Bella Thorne's a bad girl I guess, following in the footsteps of Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears.

At the New York Post, "Burned by fallen princesses, Disney is training stars to avoid scandal":

The House of Mouse is putting its foot down on starlets-gone-wild https://t.co/wqCCOoDa4Y

— New York Post (@nypost) March 11, 2017

In the last few months, Bella Thorne has tweeted a photo of herself wearing nothing but high heels, and also Snapchatted a pic of her newly pierced nipple (seen through a sheer pink top) and one of her sharing a kiss with a bosomy pal during a vacation to Mexico.

It’s a far cry from the 19-year-old’s days playing cutesy dancer CeCe Jones on the Disney Channel show “Shake It Up.” But Thorne’s rebellion is par for the course for the kiddie network’s roster of female stars — many of whom have ditched Disney’s squeaky-clean image for meltdowns, arrests and scandal.

Last April, 23-year-old Debby Ryan, the actress who starred in Disney’s “Jessie,” was arrested for DUI and pled no contest to the lesser charge of reckless driving after crashing her Audi into another vehicle in Los Angeles. Demi Lovato, who appeared on Disney’s “Sonny With a Chance” for two years, has been candid about her battle with drugs and alcohol, as well as bulimia and self-harm. Last April, two months after her Disney XD show “Lab Rats” ended, then-20-year-old actress Kelli Berglund was arrested for using a fake ID. There was “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens’ nude-photo leak of 2007 and Miley Cyrus’ barrage of hypersexualized, pot-smoking antics. And no one can forget “Mickey Mouse Club” member Britney Spears’ epic, shaved-head, umbrella-thrashing meltdown a decade ago (her former manager, Sam Lufti, said in a lawsuit that Spears was on drugs at the time).

While stars-gone-bad is not a new phenomenon, Disney’s sheltered teen flock trashing its squeaky-clean image faster than you can say M-I-C-K-E-Y — letting the world know they are sexual beings and unashamed to party.

Recently, Disney has tried to provide more guidance to its young stars with classes focused on healthy living and social-media responsibility. Speaking to The Post exclusively about the courses, studio insiders also reveal for the first time that the network offers “life skills,” coaching actors on how to navigate the wilds of social media and pitfalls of fame.

But if the latest batch of troubled Disney princesses is any indication, the kid-friendly channel still has its work cut out for itself...

Debby Ryan DUI? She was the goodiest of the goody-two-shoes child stars. My kid used to watch all of those shows at the time.

But I agree: Part of growing into adulthood is embracing the side of sexual being, and unless you're a cloistered monk outside of filming Disney programs, it's going to be hard to resist the pull of the young celebrity party culture. Young people want to explore. I partied like it was going out of style when I was young, to my great dismay later. I had to work extra hard in my late-twenties to make up for lost time. But I think there's a pay-your-dues kind of need-for-experience thing going on as well. You have to screw up sometimes before you know how to make it better.

In any case, more at the link.

ICYMI: Vine Deloria, Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins

Deloria's a great writer. I find myself giggling at some of his stuff.

At Amazon, Vine Deloria, Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto.

There's No Feminism Without the Baby-Killing

From Twitter the other day:

Feminism is an anti-male, anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-capitalist hate movement controlled by the Democrat Party. pic.twitter.com/pcNKfyBapM

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) March 9, 2017

Heh. Can you tell me what feminism's all about, lol? https://t.co/40AizcJ0JT

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 10, 2017

You don't need a Ph.D. in gender studies to understand what "crazy" means. https://t.co/AaaSHW2d5a pic.twitter.com/qO1wotXgHV

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) March 10, 2017

And today, from Katha Pollitt, at the Nation, "Can a Feminist Be Pro-Life?"

Is there pro-life feminism? @kathapollitt replies to @LNEnriquez and @dleonhardt https://t.co/j1iuZemHvY

— The Nation (@thenation) March 10, 2017

These are bad people. Very bad.

Ranking King Kong Movies

Following-up from last night, "Opens Today: 'Kong: Skull Island — Rise of the King'."

From Christian Toto, at Pajamas, "All the King Kong Movies ... Ranked."

Hollywood's Conservative Minority Faces Backlash in the Age of Trump

Punch back twice as hard, Hollywood conservatives!

At LAT, "In liberal Hollywood, a conservative minority faces backlash in the age of Trump":

As an Academy Award-winning producer and a political conservative, Gerald Molen has worked in the entertainment business long enough to remember when being openly Republican in Hollywood was no big deal.

“In the ’90s, it was never really an issue that I had to hide. I was always forthright,” recalled the producer, whose credits include “Schindler’s List” and two “Jurassic Park” movies. “It used to be we could have a conversation with two opposing points of view and it would be amiable. At the end, we still walked away and had lunch together.”

Those days are largely gone, he said. “The acrimony — it’s there. It’s front and center.”

For the vast majority of conservatives who work in entertainment, going to set or the office each day has become a game of avoidance and secrecy. The political closet is now a necessity for many in an industry that is among the most liberal in the country.

Since the presidential election, some conservatives feel that their political beliefs are more of a career liability than ever — even for those traditional Republicans disenchanted by President Trump.

“I feel absolutely it has harmed me professionally,” said Andrew Klavan, the L.A.-based screenwriter and novelist, and a “reluctant” Trump supporter. His credits include the 1990 Michael Caine dark comedy “A Shock to the System” and the novel “True Crime,” which was made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

Klavan said that producers have “called my agent asking, ‘Why would you represent this guy?’ Anything that lowers your odds is going to hurt.”

While no official tally exists, conservatives in the local entertainment industry estimate their numbers could be as high as a few thousand. That’s a small fraction of the nearly 240,000 entertainment-related jobs in the county estimated in the most recent Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the L.A. Region.

Friends of Abe — the industry’s largest conservative organization — alone counts about 2,500 people on its roster, having started a decade ago with just a handful of individuals led by actor Gary Sinise.

The organization, which keeps the identities of its members secret, holds monthly social events as well as lunches for new members. A new member can only join through a recommendation by an existing member. The group doesn’t endorse candidates, but does hold speaking events with past guests including Trump, Ted Cruz and Glenn Beck.

Hollywood conservatives are themselves a divided group when it comes to Trump, whose brash style and controversial policies on trade and immigration have alienated many Republicans.

Leaders of Friends of Abe said its members have sharply divergent views on the current president...

Keep reading.

Kate Hudson and Candice Swanepoel

At Drunken Stepfather, "KATE HUDSON BRALESS OF THE DAY," and "CANDICE SWANEPOEL's MOM-BODY TOPLESS PHOTOSHOOT OF THE DAY."

Anastasia Ashley Hawaii Adventure (VIDEO)

Previous Anastasia Ashley blogging is here.

Reader Recommendation: Hervey Allen, The Forest and the Fort: The City in the Dawn

*BUMPED.*

Thanks to the enthusiastic reader who recommended Hervey Allen's, The Forest and the Fort, the first book in a three-part series called The Disinherited and later published together as The City in the Dawn.

At Amazon, Hervey Allen, The Forest and the Fort: The City in the Dawn.

Bernard DeVoto, Across the Wide Missouri

*BUMPED.*

Here's a classic for you.

At Amazon, Bernard DeVoto, Across the Wide Missouri.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize. Across the Wide Missouri tells the compelling story of the climax and decline of the Rocky Mountain fur trade during the 1830s. More than a history, it portrays the mountain fur trade as a way of business and a way of life, vividly illustrating how it shaped the expansion of the American West.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Won't Resign

Following-up from yesterday, "President Trump Fires 46 Obama Administration Holdovers at the Justice Department."

At the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "Preet Bharara Is Said to Refuse Order to Step Down as U.S. Attorney."

And at the Hill, "U.S. attorney Bharara won't resign despite Trump demand: reports."

Obama-appointed US attorney fired by Trump after refusing to resign https://t.co/cAO7SULb7I pic.twitter.com/gAFvrr42FB

— The Hill (@thehill) March 11, 2017