President Trump Calls Commanding Officers of Navy Ships

At ABC News:

Photos show president calling commanding officers of Navy ships that launched missiles on Syria to thank them, crew. https://t.co/wdpUBeXBSA pic.twitter.com/9HLKNKpuE1

— ABC News (@ABC) April 10, 2017

California's Crisis of the Interior

Following-up from yesterday, "Jerry Brown Wins $52 Billion Gasoline Tax in California (VIDEO)."

From Joel Kotkin, at the O.C. Register, a great piece, "The Other California: A Flyover State Within a State":

California may never secede, or divide into different states, but it has effectively split into entities that could not be more different. On one side is the much-celebrated, post-industrial, coastal California, beneficiary of both the Tech Boom 2.0 and a relentlessly inflating property market. The other California, located in the state’s interior, is still tied to basic industries like homebuilding, manufacturing, energy and agriculture. It is populated largely by working- and middle-class people who, overall, earn roughly half that of those on the coast.

Over the past decade or two, interior California has lost virtually all influence, as Silicon Valley and Bay Area progressives have come to dominate both state politics and state policy. “We don’t have seats at the table,” laments Richard Chapman, president and CEO of the Kern Economic Development Corporation. “We are a flyover state within a state.”

Virtually all the polices now embraced by Sacramento — from water and energy regulations to the embrace of sanctuary status and a $15-an-hour minimum wage — come right out of San Francisco central casting. Little consideration is given to the needs of the interior, and little respect is given to their economies.

San Francisco, for example, recently decided to not pump oil from land owned by the city in Kern County, although one wonders what the new rich in that region use to fill the tanks of their BMWs. California’s “enlightened” green policies help boost energy prices 50 percent above those of neighboring states, which makes a bigger difference in the less temperate interior, where many face longer commutes than workers in more compact coastal areas...

Keep reading.

Frank Pommersheim, Braid of Feathers

At Amazon, Frank Pommersheim, Braid of Feathers: American Indian Law and Contemporary Tribal Life.

John G. Bourke, An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre

At Amazon, John G. Bourke, An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre.

Brian W. Dippie, The Vanishing American

At Amazon, Brian W. Dippie, The Vanishing American: White Attitudes and U.S. Indian Policy.

Ralph K. Andrist, The Long Death

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Ralph K. Andrist, The Long Death: The Last Days of the Plains Indians.

Angels Mount Totally Improbable Come-From-Behind Victory Over Mariners

Dang!

I shouldn't be so skeptical of the Angels. They're on fire so far this season, and the Mariners just dropped a game that they in no way should have dropped.

I tweeted after Albert Pujols put one of the board with a solo shot early in the 9th inning:

.@PujolsFive's journey on the #RoadTo600 continues with #️⃣5️⃣9️⃣2️⃣! pic.twitter.com/8hMqAiDMGf

— Angels (@Angels) April 9, 2017

Nice, but not going to be enough for the win. #Shoemaker #Angels #Mariners #MLB https://t.co/dlLYMzBPBp

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) April 9, 2017

And then the Angels made the comeback. To call it improbable is putting it mildly:

Well, that was surprising. #Angels https://t.co/tVmeiixntz

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) April 9, 2017

Angels score 7 in the 9th to win! Entering today, teams had lost 346 straight games when trailing by 6+ runs entering the 9th. pic.twitter.com/SrlMA4mP5A

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 9, 2017

Teams leading by 6+ runs entering 9th were 2,529-1 since 2011. The only loss was the Royals defeating the White Sox on May 28 last season. https://t.co/N87POMcA84

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 9, 2017

Shop Today's Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

See especially, Rosetta Stone Level 1-5 Sets.

BONUS: Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station: A Study in the Acting and Writing of History.

Rule 5 Sunday

No time for a huge roundup today. Just linking Pirate's Cove and 90 Miles from Tyranny.

See, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is a rising ocean encroaching on the land, you might just be a Warmist."

Plus, "Hot Pick of the Late Night," and "Morning Mistress."

BONUS: From last week, at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday: Baseball Babes."

#MustFollow @vipgirls4free @saby292 @elisomed5 @vill_ha_dig @TMBbyCiccio @talktomeanytm @goodenough03 pic.twitter.com/ksa33ZjSbB

— ✨Lourdes Dean® 41K✨ (@LourdesDean88) March 22, 2017

Irina Shayk Topless in Tahiti (VIDEO)

This is a flashback to 2016, but as nice as ever:

Sailboat Crew Jumps Ship Milliseconds Before Boat Hits Redondo Beach Pier (VIDEO)

They're lucking they weren't smashed on the pylons.

Via CNN on Twitter:

These crew members managed to jump ship just seconds before their sailboat crashed into a California pier https://t.co/LUVVGVySgZ pic.twitter.com/v9MCgwziGi

— CNN (@CNN) April 9, 2017

Bo Krsmanovic Uncovered for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2017 (VIDEO)

She's incredible!

So Laura Ingraham's Not Thrilled With Trump's Syria Attack?

Apparently not, if this tweet is any indication. Indeed, I saw some buzz about how she was one of the "alt-right" commentators opposing the strike.

I love Ms. Laura, but on this point I suspect she's off.

Hope @realDonaldTrump reads this buried in @nytimes. pic.twitter.com/bXi2QIVnNV

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) April 9, 2017

Syrian Chemical Attack Survivor Hits Out at @CNN's Brooke Baldwin (VIDEO)

Boy, you think Ms. Brooke's tryna make Trump look bad, tryna delegitimize his administration?

This dude Kassem Eid ain't buying it. He's awesome!

At Daily Mail and CNN:



America, the indispensable nation.

Leftists hate that, lol.

'Tomahawk Missiles' Are Offensive to Native Americans?

I've been adding a #Tomahawk hashtag to all my Syria tweets, mostly because I think that's the coolest named ever for the long-range land-attack missiles. Plus, I know that progressives hate the idea of "appropriating" American Indian names for use in military armaments.

And what do you know? The obligatory leftist political correctness.

At Heat Street, "Prominent Editor Mocked for Saying ‘Tomahawk Missiles’ Are Offensive to Native Americans."

It's Clara Jefferey, Editor in Chief at Mother Jones, who's a bloody idiot.

That the missiles are callled tomahawks must enrage a lot of Native Americans

— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) April 8, 2017

Jerry Brown Wins $52 Billion Gasoline Tax in California (VIDEO)

Jerry Brown is the lamest of lame ducks. He's finishing his fourth term as Governor of California, cementing his legacy of clusterfuck moonbeam progressivism.

At the Los Angeles Times, "California Legislature votes to raise gas taxes, vehicle fees by $5.2 billion a year for road repairs and transit."

Video via KCRA News 3 Sacramento.

I've got another 10 to 15 years or so at the college, then retirement. A lifelong Californian, I'm constantly wondering which state would be best to relocate? Nevada? Texas? Idaho or Montana? Seriously. I want to get out to more of the classic West, and especially to a low-tax state that's big on gun rights.

More at WND, "FLEEING INSANITY -- THAT IS, LIBERALISM: Exclusive: Patrice Lewis cites increasing exodus of people from California, Chicago, NYC:

In 1972, when I was 10 years old, my father’s job was transferred from Buffalo, New York, to California. After endless cold Buffalo winters, the golden state seemed like a golden place, a land of golden opportunity. My parents built a house, my father built a successful career, and my brothers and I thrived.

That was then, this is now. California is going off the deep end. The gold has turned to brass. It has become the land of fruits and nuts, a caricature of its former glory, a place people seek to leave in droves before they run afoul of the latest insanity.

Consider just a few examples of recent lunacy:

* Public university to host talk on animal-based sex fetishes
* Claim: Trump ‘threatens mental health of young Californians’
* They’ll have a ‘gay’ old time: ‘Bordellos’ now in nursing homes?
* California just passed a law regulating cow farts
* New bill would criminalize pronoun usage in nursing homes
* California bans students from traveling to ‘anti-LGBT’ states

Perhaps unsurprisingly, middle class Californians are leaving the state in droves. Take a look at these words from a frustrated inhabitant:

Came to SoCal as a kid in 1969 … got married and had kids who now are in college (out of state). I worked my *** off to get where I am today, but my house goes on the market this spring. I’ve watched this state sink into the abyss of liberal insanity inch by inch, drop by drop.

There is no hope for the state of Kalifornia. The Dems and their insane view of this world have a super majority in the Senate and Assembly. Combined with a Dem governor, there is nothing they cannot get passed. Even the Republicans who end up getting into the minority party are squishy and put up little resistance.

This past summer the legislative branch passed a bunch of bills that finally broke my desire to stay here with my salary. Gov. Moonbeam signed into law a bill that forces the cattle industry (dairy and meat) into providing flatulent catching backpacks for all cows to wear, for their precious global warming efforts. He also signed a bill that permits early release of felons out of jail and has them live amongst the citizenry. Combine that with the draconian laws further limiting my Second Amendment rights by making ammunition costly and more difficult to obtain, making some of my firearms illegal to own, he has put more rights into criminals and made my family less safe to live here.

I am DONE. Good riddance. I am moving to a state that will appreciate my conservative, constitutional values.

This person’s lament echoes that of over a million (mostly middle-class) people who have departed California in recent decades. We were among them. My husband and I shook the California dust off our feet in 1992 and never looked back at that once-beautiful state.

But it’s not just California. Recent articles show a massive exodus from both New York City and Chicago as well.

What do these three locations (California, New York, Chicago) have in common? They are bastions of liberalism, cauldrons of experimental progressive policies, vanguards of whatever feel-good fiscally irresponsible nonsense disturbed minds can think up.

So when we read about populations draining out of certain locations, the conclusion is obvious. People aren’t fleeing New York or Chicago or California; people are fleeing liberalism. The festering cauldron of progressive thought ultimately makes places unlivable.

I’m honestly sorry for those freedom-loving conservatives who are unable (due to work or family commitments) to beat feet and flee the gold-plated state. And I welcome those honestly looking to escape the insidious poison. I do, however, bear a grudge with those who bring their poison with them and enthusiastically spread it to a new location, dragging everything down with them.

Keep reading.

BONUS: From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "WELL, THAT’S ONE WAY TO PUT IT: “California’s gas tax hike shows governor’s political skill” reads an AP headline this weekend."

H.R. McMaster Boots K. T. McFarland

Well, if the appointment as envoy to Singapore doesn't work out, K. T. McFarland can always head back to Fox News.

At Bloomberg, "McFarland to Exit White House as McMaster Consolidates Power":

K. T. McFarland has been asked to step down as deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump after less than three months and is expected to be nominated as ambassador to Singapore, according to a person familiar with White House personnel moves.

The departure of the 65-year-old former Fox News commentator comes as Trump’s second National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, puts his own stamp on the National Security Council after taking over in February from retired General Michael Flynn.

McFarland proved not to be a good fit at the NSC, the person said, adding that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was involved in the decision as well.

Her removal follows a reorganization of the NSC in the past week that removed Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor, from the principals committee, the Cabinet-level interagency forum that advises the president on pressing security matters.

Other officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were brought back onto the committee as “regular attendees,” reversing a move made in January. The changes were outlined in a presidential memorandum dated April 4.

Former Goldman Sachs executive Dina Powell stays on as another deputy national security adviser, and a second person is expected to be named to a similar role to replace McFarland...

More (via Memeorandum).

Trump Made All the Right Calls This Week

I've been thinking so much myself.

From Walter Russell Mead, at WSJ (via RCP), "In Striking Syria, Trump Made All the Right Calls":

President Trump faced his first serious foreign-policy test this week. To the surprise and perhaps frustration of his critics, he passed with flying colors.

In the first place, the president read the situation correctly. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s horrific and illegal use of chemical weapons against civilians was not merely an affront to international norms. It was a probe by Mr. Assad and his patrons to test the mettle of the new White House.

This must have looked like a good week to challenge Washington. The Trump administration is beset by critics. Most senior national-security posts remain unfilled. The White House is torn by infighting. The Republican Party is divided by the bitter primary campaign and its recent health-care fiasco.

President Trump concluded, correctly, that failing to respond effectively to Mr. Assad’s challenge would invite more probes and more tests. He moved quickly and decisively against the provocation, demonstrating that the days of strategic dithering are gone.

Second, Mr. Trump chose the right response: a limited missile strike against the Syrian air base that, according to American intelligence, had launched the vicious gas attack. This resonated well nearly everywhere. At home, it won approval from Jacksonians and others who want a strong president. The strikes vindicated America’s prestige and dealt a clear setback to those who seek to humiliate or marginalize the U.S. But no ground troops were involved and Mr. Trump made no move toward long-term counterinsurgency or nation-building, the type of campaign that many Americans, his base in particular, have learned to view skeptically.

Internationally, the strike was also popular. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, putting awkward phone calls behind him, spoke up forthrightly in Mr. Trump’s support. So did Canada’s Justin Trudeau, not usually considered a member of the Trump Fan Club, and Germany’s foreign minister, a Social Democrat whose party has been among the most critical of past American military action.

The strike reassured nervous allies, hungry for leadership but concerned about Mr. Trump’s temperament, that he is capable of a measured response intended to support a vital principle of international law. Friends of the U.S. will sweat less, and opponents will sweat more. That is a good thing.

Third, Mr. Trump handled the process well. Congress was briefed but not asked for approval, a decision inside the long-established norms that govern military action by American commanders in chief. Engaging in a war to overthrow Mr. Assad would be another matter, but so far Mr. Trump has stayed well within the mainstream of American presidents dating back to the 18th century.

The Trump administration notified Russia before the U.S. bombed the Syrian airfield. This is a process of its own. If this were the start of a long war, we wouldn’t give our adversaries advance warning about the opening salvo. However, by telling Moscow we were about to strike, the administration was signaling that the engagement would be limited, and the Russians could therefore temper their response. By using cruise missiles, the administration also guaranteed that the action would be impossible to prevent.

Finally, Mr. Trump gets extra points for deftness...

Keep reading.

Harvard Looks to Boot 'Puritans' from School Song

Leftists will erase our entire history before their done.

The problem, of course, is just because you change the lyrics doesn't change the facts of our country's founding, or of Harvard's. This is pretty despicable, frankly.

At NYT, "Harvard Seeks to Write ‘Puritans’ Out of Its Alma Mater":

Harvard is writing "the Puritans" out of its alma mater, seeking to make it more inclusive https://t.co/DnjVcJN6aV

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 8, 2017

For decades, Harvard students and alumni have sung an alma mater that calls on them to be heralds of light and bearers of love “till the stock of the Puritans die.”

University officials teach the refrain to freshmen on arrival and sing it again when the students graduate years later.

But this week, a university steeped in tradition said the time had come for a change.

To affirm Harvard’s commitment to inclusion in a time when college campuses are routinely finding themselves at the center of national debates on race and identity, university officials said they are seeking suggested rewrites of that disquieting final line. The contest is open only to members of the Harvard community.

The line about Puritans concludes a sentence that is “an exhortation to pursue the truth until a certain endpoint,” said Danielle S. Allen, a professor and political philosopher on the Presidential Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging, which launched the competition.

Harvard’s motto is “Veritas,” Latin for “truth,” she noted, adding, “there shouldn’t be any endpoint to the pursuit of truth, nor should we imply that the pursuit of truth is for any particular ethnic group.”

More.

Danielle Allen's an idiot.

A task force on "Inclusion and Belonging," pfft. These people belong in an asylum.

Also at Never Yet Melted, "The Stock of the Puritans Has Apparently Died":

Today, minority admittees and presiding administrations eagerly lobby for fundamentally changing the composition, constituency, and even the complexion of those schools. Matters have reached a point at which the non-traditional groups feel entitled to rename buildings and to purge references and memorials to illustrious alumni and benefactors on the basis of their own amour propre. Now, at Harvard, they are sending the founders and original constituency of the college into exile from the school’s alma mater. All this causes me to wonder: had the people who initiated the effort at diversity admissions been able to foresee this occurring, would they ever have admitted any of these minorities at all in the first place?

RTWT.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon: 'The U.S. is a Beacon of Morality' (VIDEO)

He's the ambassador to the U.N., which gives him an excellent vantage point to judge morality vs. evil.

Watch, at Fox News, "Israeli ambassador to the UN: The U.S. is a beacon of morality - Amb. Danny Danon shares his thoughts on 'America's News HQ'."