Democrats, the Party of Hate

At the Other McCain, "The Party of Hate":

The Democrat Party is the world’s most successful hate group. It attracts poor people who hate rich people, black people who hate white people, gay people who hate straight people, feminists who hate men, environmentalists who hate the internal combustion engine, and a lot of bratty college kids who hate their parents. However, the real secret of the party’s success is that it attracts the support of journalists who hate Republicans, and who therefore work tirelessly to convince the rest of us that we should vote for Democrats. . . . No matter who the Republicans nominate for president, the Organized Forces of Liberal Journalism will paint him as a greedy, cold-hearted, woman-hating racist. If the GOP nominated a Buddhist monk or a Latina lesbian, still the New York Times and NBC News would find a way to convince themselves that the Republican candidate represented everything liberals hate about America — the military, the police, Christianity, capitalism, the internal combustion engine and heterosexual white men who work for a living.

That’s a quote from a post I wrote in February 2016 after watching a debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. A guy emailed me to ask permission to quote it in his book, and when I read the quote, I laughed: “Damn, I forgot how funny that was.” A quick Google search revealed that it’s been quoted all over the place and why?

Because it’s true...

Keep reading.

Vanessa Hudgens Fitness

At Drunken Stepfather, "LOOK AT VANESSA HUDGENS FITNESS OF THE DAY."

ICYMI: Charles F. Wilkinson, Blood Struggle

I picked up a copy.

Get yours, at Amazon, Charles F. Wilkinson, Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations.

And thanks for all the reader support!

Your purchases, through my Amazon links, allow me to indulge my passion for books and reading. It's a lot of fun, and keeps me blogging too.

So thanks again.

Texas House Approves SB4 Ban on 'Sanctuary Cities' (VIDEO)

Oh boy this got hot!

At Twitchy, "‘Never talk to me again’: Ban on sanctuary jurisdictions passes Texas House despite tears, pleas for mercy."

Also at the Dallas Morning News, "Texas House finally passes harsher 'sanctuary cities' bill that's more like Senate version."

And watch, at CBS News 11 Dallas/Ft. Worth:

Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914.

Arianny Celeste on the Beach in Mexico

At Taxi Driver, "Arianny Celeste Caught Topless on the Beach."

And at London's Daily Mail, "She's a real knockout! UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste goes TOPLESS in tiny bikini during Mexico vacation."

Amber Lee's Continued Wind Advisory Forecast

Here's the lovely Ms. Amber, forecasting much more gusty winds.

For CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Alice Goffman's Hiring at Pomona College an 'Egregious' Case of 'Anti-Blackness'

"No more whites should be hired."

See Legal Insurrection, "Pomona College Students: Hiring White Prof an ‘Egregious’ Offense."

Following the links takes us to Campus Reform, "Students demand Pomona rescind offer to prof because she's white."

Here's the students' open letter, "Letter to the Pomona College Sociology Department."

And at Commentary, "New Rule: White Women Should Not Study Black Communities."

New Rule: White Women Should Not Study Black Communities - by @marksjo1 https://t.co/2ppy8zehgJ pic.twitter.com/HY24oSHIdv

— Commentary Magazine (@Commentary) April 24, 2017

'Take It Easy'

Okay, back to my regular drive-time music routine, from yesterday morning, at the Sound L.A.

The Eagles, "Take It Easy."

Patience
Guns N' Roses
10:29 AM

Goodbye Stranger
Supertramp
10:23 AM

Two of Us
The Beatles
10:20 AM

Daydream
The Lovin' Spoonful
10:18 AM

Golden Years
David Bowie
10:14 AM

Games Without Frontiers
Peter Gabriel
10:10 AM

Love Is a Battlefield
Pat Benatar
10:05 AM

Centerfold
The J. Geils Band
10:01 AM

Sympathy for the Devil
The Rolling Stones
9:54 AM

Sweet Emotion
Aerosmith
9:49 AM

Thunderstruck
AC/DC
9:36 AM

Take It Easy
Eagles
9:33 AM

Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen, and France’s National Front

This is the best essay I've read all year, hands down.

From Claire Berlinski, at Ricochet.

My last-minute thoughts on Marine Le Pen, which I pray will within hours will be found irrelevant. https://t.co/6cr21E0qVG

— Claire Berlinski (@ClaireBerlinski) April 23, 2017

Hilary Rhoda Uncovered for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2017 (VIDEO)

Very nice.

Far-Left Could Help Marine Le Pen

Well, this is interesting.

At the New York Times, "Marine Le Pen May Get a Lift From an Unlikely Source: The Far Left":

Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate in France's election, may get a lift from the far left https://t.co/HHsAk4ui52

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 26, 2017

PARIS — The far-right leader Marine Le Pen faces an uphill battle in France’s presidential runoff, less than two weeks away. But she saw daylight through a small window on Tuesday, and from an unlikely source: her defeated counterpart on the far left.

Alone among all of France’s major political personalities, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of his own “France Unsubjugated” movement, who finished a strong fourth in Sunday’s voting, has refused to endorse Ms. Le Pen’s opponent, the former economy minister Emmanuel Macron.

Mr. Mélenchon’s critics say his obstinacy is petulant, wounded pride that can only help Ms. Le Pen’s National Front. But it also speaks to the passions that Mr. Macron, a seemingly mild-mannered centrist, provokes in large parts of the French electorate, far left and far right, who share a view of the 39-year-old former investment banker as a fire-breathing incarnation of evil market culture.

As populism and anger over the impacts of globalization energize much of the electorate, Mr. Mélenchon’s stand has added a new element of uncertainty into the final round of voting on May 7.

It has also set off a dynamic in the French race much like when Hillary Clinton defeated Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primaries last year — leaving his supporters, still in the thrall of populism, up for grabs as party allegiances broke down.

Mr. Mélenchon’s 19.6 percent of the vote Sunday is now a rich booty — triple the score of the mainstream Socialist Party, whose collapse has elevated Mr. Mélenchon to be de facto leader of the French left. He even won in big cities like Marseille and Lille.

But it is not clear where that vote will now go, not least because far-left populism and far-right populism may have more in common than the seemingly vast gulf between them on the political spectrum would suggest.

Mr. Mélenchon, 65, a former Trotskyite, ran a campaign denouncing banks, globalization and the European Union — just like Ms. Le Pen.

A grizzled orator with a penchant for Latin American dictators, he has the same forgiving attitude she does toward the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin.

Both were competing for working-class voters suspicious of the global financial elite. Mr. Macron had already “ruined the lives of thousands of people” with his pro-market policies, Mr. Mélenchon said during the campaign.

And like Ms. Le Pen, Mr. Mélenchon regularly attacked the news media during the campaign. On election night, after his defeat, he tore into what he called “mediacrats” and “oligarchs.” They were “rejoicing” over “two candidates who approve and want to maintain the current institutions” of government, the longtime fan of Castro and Hugo Chávez said.

The shared lines of attack gave the candidates at the political extremes their best showings ever, if from opposite ends of the spectrum. Mr. Mélenchon almost doubled his 2012 result, refused to concede for hours and then attacked both finalists, refusing to distinguish between them.

In that, he is alone. Across the board, politicians and other former candidates have urgently counseled their supporters to vote for Mr. Macron to block Ms. Le Pen’s path to the Élysée Palace...

Keep reading.

Jennifer Delacruz's Wind Advisory Forecast

Ms. Jennifer's back, for ABC News 10 San Diego.

Joanna Krupa Upskirt Dress Windblown

At London's Daily Mail, "Joanna Blooper! Real Housewives of Miami star Krupa falls victim to a gust of wind as she flashes her nude knickers while stepping out for dinner."

And Taxi Driver Movie, "Joanna Krupa Wind Blown Upskirt on a Night Out."

Robert Godwin's Murder Was Replayed 1.6 Million Times

That's an astonishing number, considering the subject.

See Jason Riley, "Who Watches a Murder Streamed Live on Facebook?":

Who watches a murder streamed live on Facebook? writes @Jasonrileywsj https://t.co/lydmPTXkOe

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 26, 2017

The most shocking aspect of the Easter Sunday Facebook murder of 74-year-old Robert Godwin, Sr. might be that this sort of social media mayhem is losing its ability to shock.

In March, a video of a 15-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by several teenage boys was streamed on Facebook.

In February, a teenager was convicted of fatally shooting his friend; the killer implicated himself by sending a selfie with the dying victim on Snapchat.

In January, four people were arrested after broadcasting a video on Facebook that showed them taunting and beating a mentally disabled teenager who had been bound and gagged.

Already this year, a 14-year-old girl in Florida and a 33-year-old man in California have committed suicide on Facebook.

Last year, an armed woman in Maryland live-streamed her fatal standoff with the police, and a 12-year-old in Georgia recorded her own suicide by hanging via the Live.me app.

Shortly after Facebook launched its new video-streaming service last April, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told BuzzFeed that the goal was to support “the most personal and emotional and raw and visceral ways people want to communicate.” But preventing abuse of these platforms has been a challenge.

There’s been a smattering of calls from public officials and activists to suspend these streaming capabilities until better filters are in place, but the popularity and profitability of live video make that course of action unlikely. Besides, the safe-harbor provisions of the federal Communications Decency Act, passed by Congress two decades ago, give operators broad protection from liability for content posted by their users.

Sure, some grandstanding member of Congress can call for a hearing, or a state attorney general looking to boost his profile can announce a lawsuit, but neither is really necessary. Social media behemoths like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube currently have every incentive to protect their services from the freaks, sociopaths and others intent on spreading violent or disturbing images. “Facebook Murderer” or “YouTube Shooter” pasted in CNN bulletins and newspaper headlines is the kind of publicity that companies work to minimize without any prompting.

With nearly two billion users, Facebook wants to be not only the place where you connect with family and friends but also your main source of news and information...

More.

And still more at the Independent U.K., below, "Facebook under fire for failing to remove footage of Thai man killing baby daughter for almost 24 hours: Man's wife says she does not blame 'outraged' viewers for sharing disturbing footage."

Man kills baby daughter live on Facebook and footage stays online for 24 hours https://t.co/uUmTHnumOA

— The Independent (@Independent) April 26, 2017

Let's hope this rash of atrocious Facebook death causes real damage --- even death --- to the social media platform.

Deals Today

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And, Magnum Whole Bean Coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend, 2 Pound (Pack of 2).

More, Mountain House Just In Case...Classic Assortment Bucket.

Also, Electronics - The Pro and DJ Headphones Store.

And, Shop Tools and Hardware.

Still more, For Young Ladies, OP Juniors Swim Push-Up Bandeau Top with Removable Straps.

Here, Save on Cuisinart Products.

BONUS: Tuong Vu, Vietnam's Communist Revolution: The Power and Limits of Ideology.

Montana Pushes Back on Refugee Resettlement

Well good.

These resettlement programs are like leftover Obama administration stink-bombs. We need to cut back on immigration across-the-board, and especially on refugee programs.

At the Los Angeles Times, "How a Montana county became a stage for the national debate over refugees":

How a Montana county became a stage for the national debate over refugees https://t.co/dVkFZfeQ4E pic.twitter.com/rwCeDWDjw0

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 25, 2017

A retiree tried to bring refugees to his Montana town of 6,357. He faced resistance & guns. Then Trump gave him hope https://t.co/MM3qWPIPx2

— Jaweed Kaleem (@jaweedkaleem) April 25, 2017

As images of dead Syrian children flashed across his television this month in Montana, David LeBleu prayed it would finally change minds.

"Could this be our chance?" he wondered.

LeBleu, 73, had been campaigning for a year to bring refugees to his tiny mountainside town of Whitefish. But in conservative Flathead County, he was making little headway.

Donald Trump had won the county with 65% of the vote in the presidential election and found widespread support there for his “America first” message and pledge to halt refugee resettlement nationwide. In that sense, the region wasn’t much different from a broad swath of the nation.

If the deaths of “beautiful babies” — as Trump had put it — in what the U.S. said was a poison gas attack couldn’t sway people, LeBleu figured nothing could.

“They don’t like newcomers here,” he said. “They want to just keep things the way they are, in the past.”

LeBleu himself is a newcomer, part of a wave of liberal-minded transplants drawn to Whitefish, population 6,357, for its natural beauty and slower pace of life. He moved from Long Island, N.Y., three years ago, following his daughter after retiring from teaching high school social studies and losing his wife to multiple sclerosis and cancer.

He was delighted that people would “talk to you on the street and ask how you were doing.” As a lifelong Christian, he was pleased to see churches everywhere.

But in Whitefish, the Presbyterian churches he visited were more interested in the Bible than the wider world and didn’t share his passion for women’s or gay rights.

LeBleu finally found a spiritual home alongside other liberal transplants at the Whitefish United Methodist Church. It was already working internationally to pay the salaries of Christian pastors in Angolan villages.

Its motto — “open hearts, open minds, open doors” — was prominently displayed on its website. To LeBleu, those were words to live by.

He saw an opportunity early last year after a photograph of a drowned Syrian boy went viral and a group of mothers in Missoula, a university town 130 miles down the interstate, were so moved that they launched an effort to take in refugees. Their plan to bring refugees to Montana for the first time in decades ignited a statewide debate and a string of demonstrations on both sides of the issue.

LeBleu’s response was to try to bring refugees to Whitefish.
But the faith that dominated northwest Montana was far more conservative than LeBleu had ever experienced.

To him, being a Presbyterian meant a life of public service and openness to other cultures. Back in Long Island, he sat on a refugee council at his church and once housed a Vietnamese refugee and her two sons. He joined churchgoers for a trip to refugee camps in the Middle East, and his church hosted a Coptic Christian priest from Egypt and a pastor from Syria...

More.

Angels Claw Back Against the Athletics (VIDEO)

Alex Curry, the Angels sideline reporter for Fox Sports West (at the video below), asked Kole Calhoun about his first walk-off single, indicating that 8 of the 10 Angels wins this season have been come-from-behind.

I'm like, "Please, Anaheim, you're killing me here, lol."

It's great baseball, that's for sure.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Angels beat the Athletics 2-1 with a walk off in the 11th."

The Angels walked off on Oakland, 2-1, in 11 innings. Kole Calhoun hit the winning single. They’re 10-12.

— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) April 26, 2017

Lead. [#TheHaloWay] pic.twitter.com/NOh17FD7o2

— Angels (@Angels) April 26, 2017

Bring out the 💦💦💦 to celebrate @KoleCalhoun's 1st career walk-off game winner in extra innings 💪⚾️ @Angels @MLBONFOX pic.twitter.com/jGiFGeY3gF

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) April 26, 2017

Ann Coulter, Demonic

Just saw this, at Breitbart, "YAF Pulls Out of Ann Coulter Berkeley Event, Blames College for Allowing 'Hostile Atmosphere'."

And that reminds me of Coulter's excellent book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America.

The left truly is "demonic" and the radical mob endangers every decent American, to say nothing of the very fabric of society.

Los Angeles Residents Expect New Race Riots (VIDEO)

It's the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots, and leftist agitation has got the city on edge. You know, "black lives matter" and all that.

At the Los Angeles Times, "For first time, more L.A. residents believe new riots likely, new poll finds":

For Nicole Cuff and her friends, the 1992 Los Angeles riots used to feel like a piece of history, told in old stories by their parents or discussed and analyzed in school.

Recently, though, it’s started to feel much more real to her — like something that could happen again in the near future.

Cuff, a coordinator at an entertainment management company who is half black and half Filipina, said her feelings come in part from several years of headlines, viral videos of police force and Black Lives Matter protests over police shootings of African Americans.

“It evokes some unfelt anger that hasn’t been tapped into,” said Cuff, 26, who has a diverse group of friends who have become much more politically engaged in the last few years. “When nobody pays a price for it … it could set people off.”

Her view reflects what researchers who study public attitudes about the L.A. riots say is a distinct shift: For the first time since the riots, there is an uptick in the number of Angelenos who fear that another civil disturbance is likely, according to a Loyola Marymount University poll that has been surveying Los Angeles residents every five years since the 1992 disturbances.

Nearly 6 out of 10 Angelenos think another riot is likely in the next five years, increasing for the first time after two decades of steady decline. That’s higher than in any year except for 1997, the first year the survey was conducted, and more than a 10-point jump compared with the 2012 survey.

Young adults ages 18 to 29, who didn’t directly experience the riots, were more likely than older residents to feel another riot was a possibility, with nearly 7 out of 10 saying one was likely, compared with about half of those 45 or older. Those who were unemployed or worked part-time were also more pessimistic, as were black and Latino residents, compared with whites and Asians, the poll found.

Researchers theorized that the turnaround may be linked to several factors, including the more polarized national dialogue on race sparked by police shootings in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, as well as by the tenor of last year’s presidential election. Moreover, many parts of L.A. still suffer from some of the economic problems and lack of opportunities that fueled anger before the riots.

“Economic disparity continues to increase, and at the end of the day, that is what causes disruption,” said Fernando Guerra, a political science professor who has worked on the survey since its inception. “People are trying to get along and want to get along, but they understand economic tension boils over to political and social tension.”

More.